


Pictures

by lonely_no_more



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, F/M, photography student!Annie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-20
Updated: 2018-03-13
Packaged: 2018-04-16 05:52:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 51
Words: 40,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4613634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lonely_no_more/pseuds/lonely_no_more
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of tumblr request drabbles. All Mikaani, all the time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Pictures

The crowd was growing on the platform for the subway and Annie sighed, shifting the strap for her camera and using her hood as padding. It had been a long day at school and she was more than ready to get back to her apartment. When the subway arrived, she managed to slip in ahead of the mass and took a seat near the door. All the other people packed in. But then a flash of deep red caught her eyes, keeping her interest as she finally saw that it was a young woman in a red beanie. Her black hair was just short of shoulder-length and there was a very small scar under her right eye. It was almost like she walked out of a monochrome photograph with the only color emphasis as the red beanie.

Annie switched her camera on and adjusted the focus, managing to snap a photo of the beautiful woman as she adjusted her longboard to sit upright between her legs. The woman was none the wiser, Annie hoped, as she scrolled through her phone. A feeling of awkwardness started to settle on the blonde photographer. Shooting a picture of someone without their knowledge was pretty creepy and it made Annie bite her lip. Hearing the announcement for her stop, Annie sat forward on the seat and as soon as the subway stopped, she got to her feet and got out.

It was almost like she couldn’t get to her apartment fast enough. Living just two blocks from the subway station, it was a quick trip but her anxiety set the young woman on edge. So as soon as she was in the door, Annie heaved a sigh of relief. From the small kitchen, one of her roommates called out, “Annie? You home?”

“Yeah, I’m home, Mina,” she replied. She peeked into the kitchen, spotting the dark-haired girl putting icing on cupcakes. “There a...there a special occasion for those?”

Mina blushed a little. “It’s Marco’s birthday tomorrow and I wanted to do something special for him.”

Annie rolled her eyes as she left the kitchen to go put her stuff away in her bedroom. “You need to just ask him out!” She laughed, hearing Mina whine. “C’mon, who gives a shit about social norms anymore, just ask the man.” Out of her boots and in a warm pair of socks, Annie walked back out to the kitchen and plopped into one of the chairs as Mina finished the cupcakes. “Mina.”

“I know, Annie, I know. I’ll ask him out tomorrow.” She glanced at the blonde woman and narrowed her eyes. “Something happened. You’re a little jittery.”

“Am not.”

“Are so. Your leg is bouncing and you only do that when you’re feeling anxious about something.” Mina paused for a moment and then gasped, “Did you meet a girl?”

The photography student tensed and crossed her arms over her chest. “No, I did not ‘meet a girl.’” She looked away, muttering, “I just saw a really cute girl.”

Mina tossed the piping bag into the sink and sat down quickly, eagerly asking, “What did she look like? Are you going to talk to her?”

“Jesus, Mina, what are you, my mother?” Annie sighed. “I don’t know if I’ll talk to her. I feel really weird about it because my first instinct was to take a picture. She has black hair and grey eyes and she was wearing this red beanie and she has a longboard-”

“Whoa, whoa there, tiger,” her roommate muttered. “You have a picture of her?” She made a come hither motion and said, “Show. Now.”

“Yes, mom,” Annie replied. She got up and went to fetch her camera, powering it on and sitting back down in the chair across from her friend. “There.” She turned the camera around to show Mina, watching her expression carefully.

“Holy _shit_ , she’s gorgeous.” She grinned. “You need to talk to her.”

“I am _not_ going to talk to her. I’m already on a level of creepy that I don’t want to be on because I took a picture of her without her knowledge.” Annie shut the camera off and set it on the table, deciding to grab a beer from the fridge. Hearing the door open again, she sighed and popped the lid off the bottle, taking a nice swig from it. “And the reason I drink just walked in the door.”

“Shut it, Annie,” Hitch shot back.

“What happened, is Marlowe still utterly oblivious to your,” Annie paused dramatically, “ _affections_?”

Hitch stood in the doorway of their kitchen, hands on her hips and scowling. “No, he’s completely aware. What happened is that my professor for international relations is a dick.” She glanced at the cupcakes on the table and smirked, “Aw, are those for Marco?”

Mina crossed her arms and straightened up in her chair, replying coolly, “Yes. Yes, they are.”

“Just ask him out, please, for my sanity and yours. I don’t think I can stand to hear Marco ask me one more time if you’re single.” Turning her attention once more to Annie, the woman questioned, “And you, Annie? Still alone?”

Annie smirked, snatched her camera from the table and breezed by, snipping, “Not for long.”

When Hitch started to turn and opened her mouth to question, Mina piped up, “Oh, yeah, Annie met a girl on the subway today. And she is _beautiful._ ”

“What the- no, no, no,” Hitch muttered, “I want more information than that. Annie? Annie!”

[X]

Three months and at least sixty very awkward rides on the subway later, Annie still had no idea who the very attractive woman with the beanie and longboard was. She had taken a couple more pictures of her, still quite in awe of how photogenic the young woman could be. It only served to make the photography student more awkward. So, during the beginning of November, Annie sat next to the door again and waited for her stop. They picked up more passengers, one being an elderly woman with a cane. Annie heard a young woman say, “You can take my seat, ma’am.” The rest of the exchange was more or less lost in the noise pollution. But when the wheels of the longboard moved into view, Annie’s heart started to pound and she shifted her camera anxiously. It was then that she realized the only other space was right next to her and the woman with the red beanie sat next to her. Annie turned her head away, looking pointedly in the other direction. It was difficult, with the way that the movement of the subway jostled everyone, to not accidentally bump the woman. “I’ve been meaning to catch you.”

Annie’s attention snapped to the woman. The grey eyes that had been captured in a few photos were finally focused on the photographer herself and Annie muttered, “Why?”

“You were staring at me.”

The blonde woman scoffed, “No, I wasn’t. I was just staring off into space.”

Skepticism drew the other woman’s brows together and she replied, “I find that very hard to believe. Because when I would look up, you seemed very interested in your camera.” She asked, “You’re not some scout looking for a model, are you?”

“No! I’m a photography student but I don’t need a model.” Annie paused for a moment and then added, “You’ve been asked before?”

“Yeah,” she mumbled, “some guy. I didn’t really trust his story about being a scout for new models though. He gave off this really creepy vibe.” She shrugged. “What school do you go to?”

“Maria Central.”

Recognition sparked the other woman’s eyes and she questioned, “Oh, you mean the one down by Queen Rose Park?” When Annie nodded, the woman smiled. “I go there too. But I work in the mornings, so that might explain why I never saw you on campus before.”

“What courses are you taking?” Annie asked.

“I’m studying to become a history major. I’d really like to work at a museum,” she explained. “I’m Mikasa.”

“Annie,” the blonde replied. She rubbed the back of her neck, thinking of what else to say. “Why do you always have a longboard though?”

“I skate around campus,” Mikasa stated. She flashed a soft smile at the other student. “Maybe now we can actually see one another and it isn’t awkward.”

“Y-yeah,” Annie agreed. She bit her lip. “This is my stop.” She got up and waved at Mikasa before running off, eager to get home. As soon as she was in the door, she hollered, “Mina!”

“Yeah?”

“Her name is Mikasa!” Annie went to her room, putting her stuff down and walking out to see Mina working on her laptop. “She talked to me first. Her name is Mikasa.”

“Oh my God. _Oh my God_.” She smiled and set her laptop on the coffee table and clapped her hands together, inquiring, “So? How’d it go?”

“She knew I was staring at her. Not like I really meant to.” She sighed and plopped on the couch. “She’s a history major at Maria Central. Wants to work at a museum. She rides her longboard around campus and she works in the mornings.” Annie dragged her hands down her face and groaned, “I didn’t tell her that I took pictures of her.”

“That can wait for a little while,” Mina mumbled. “After you guys get to know each other a little more, y’know.” She hummed and tapped a finger against her chin. “I wonder if Marco knows her. He’s doing a minor in history.”

Annie rolled onto her side and grabbed the remote, turning the TV on for the evening news. “It’s getting fucking freezing.”

Mina grabbed her laptop again and sat back, beginning to tap away on her laptop. “You gonna be ok?”

“Yeah, I just have to keep up on my diet and the iron supplements.” Annie smirked when the door opened and she said, “Hey, Hitch.”

“Oh, Annie, you’re actually _speaking_ to me again?” The woman leaned over the back of the couch and rolled her eyes. “I’m so privileged.” Seeing the smug look on the blonde’s face, Hitch’s eyes narrowed and she hissed, “What has you looking like a fucking cat?”

“Oh, nothing, just enjoyed talking to Mikasa today.”

“Oh. _Oh._ ” She growled and slammed her fist down on the back of the couch, swearing. “ _Goddammit, are you fucking kidding me?_ ”

In her chair, Mina was biting her lip and trying not to giggle while Hitch stormed off to her room. “What’s wrong, Hitch?”

“ _Fucking Annie is probably gonna get into a relationship before I am!_ ” On the couch, Annie covered her mouth and snorted while their other roommate came back into the living room. “Annie, you have, like- constant resting _bitch face_.” Annie brought her other hand over her mouth and curled up tighter, body shaking with silent laughter. “ _How the hell can you get a date before me? I’ve been trying to get with Marlowe for months!_ ” When she looked over the couch and saw Annie laughing, Hitch stomped her foot and huffed, “This isn’t funny!”

Annie sat up and wiped at her eyes, laughing, “C’mon, Hitch, I’m absolutely charming. Of course I can get a date before you.”

Hitch groaned and settled on the other end of the couch. “I’ve talked to him. And he likes me. But he doesn’t want to date until he knows I’m ‘absolutely sure’ that I want to be with him.” She brought her knees up to her chest and hugged her legs. “This sucks.”

Annie nudged Hitch with her foot and muttered, “Chill. Marlowe will probably fall for you slowly or whatever.” She shrugged. “And then it’ll all be worth the wait because it’ll be like a fairytale or some shit.”

The other woman sneered, “You’re so comforting.”

With a smirk, Annie shrugged again and said, “I know.”

[X]

“Mikasa?”

“Hey,” the taller woman greeted, still carrying her longboard at her side. Being mid-January, it was absolutely frigid. But there was no snow or ice to hinder the use of such modes of transportation. She frowned slightly, seeing the way Annie shivered. “Are you ok?”

“I’m pretty much constantly cold. I’ll live.” She smiled faintly. “What’s up?”

“Nothing, really. I was wondering if you’d like to hang out at my place for a little bit tonight,” Mikasa offered. Her cheeks were slightly reddened by the bite of the wind as she fell into step beside Annie as they walked to the subway.

“Really?” Annie questioned.

Mikasa nodded. “Yeah, I was just gonna make a frozen pizza for dinner and marathon _Legend of Korra_.” At the skeptical look on Annie’s face, the taller woman asked, “What?”

“ _Legend of Korra_?”

Her eyes widened as she stared at Annie. “You don’t know what it is?” Annie shook her head and Mikasa whistled. “Oh, this will be fun for you. I hope you like absolutely amazing animation and story writing because _The Legend of Korra_ is one of my favorite shows.”

Annie snorted a laugh and said, “All right then. Sounds good.” As they got on the subway, the ride was primarily quiet. But just before her usual stop, Annie bit her lip and ran a thumb over her camera. She took a deep breath and softly muttered, “Mikasa, I need to tell you something.” The woman looked at her and nodded, letting the blonde know that she was paying attention. “I...I actually did take a couple pictures of you. Before we started talking.” Looking back at Mikasa, she rushed, “It was more like a reflex, honestly, because seeing you was almost like looking at a picture and seeing all the beauty of a still moment surrounded by movement. And I know that must sound absolutely insane but I’ve actually felt really weird about it because I didn’t want you to think of me as a total creep.” She fell silent and simply stared at the taller woman.

“May I see them?” Mikasa inquired. Annie promptly nodded and turned on her camera, holding it out to Mikasa. She looked at the pictures and mumbled, “Oh, God, look at my hair. It’s an absolute mess.” She smiled a little. “You’re really good.” She handed the camera back over to Annie and smiled softly. “I appreciate that you told me. That would’ve been really weird later on down the line.” They passed Annie’s stop by two and then got out. As they started to walk the five blocks to Mikasa’s place, Mikasa blinked and then asked, “Do you know how to skate?”

Annie laughed and shook her head. “No. No, I don’t.”

“You wanna learn?”

“Wait, you’re serious?” Annie smirked nervously as they came to a slightly less crowded spot of the street and Mikasa set her board down. “Mikasa-”

“What? You afraid?” Mikasa smirked back.

The blonde woman huffed and stepped onto the board, allowing Mikasa to gently fix her stance. “I’m afraid of _nothing_.” She squeaked quietly as Mikasa put her hands on her hips and started walking, moving them along the street.

From across the street, the two women heard someone shout, “You two are adorable!”

Another voice piped up and added, “Keep teaching her! Rock it!”

Mikasa simply smiled, not able to see the furious blush on Annie’s face. After four more blocks, Mikasa patted her hip and said, “C’mon, this is my building.” After Annie hopped off of the board, the taller woman stomped on the tail and made it jump, catching the axel in her hand. “Let’s go.” They headed to the elevator and the dark-haired female grinned. “That was a good start.”

“You were holding onto me the whole time,” Annie grumbled.

“Still better than my brother,” Mikasa said under her breath. “I held his hand and he still crashed.” She paused, “By the way, my roommate and her girlfriend will probably show up about halfway through the marathon.”

“That’s cool,” the blonde replied with a shrug.

“Yeah, it’ll be cool until we have to turn up the volume so we don’t have to listen to them have sex,” Mikasa muttered.

Annie smirked. “We can get back at them.”

There was a long pause as the elevator came to a stop and Mikasa led them to her apartment. She looked over her shoulder at Annie. “And how do we do that?”

“Throw something hard that won’t break at their door.” Annie smiled. “It’s what I do when one of my roommates brings guys home. Unfortunately, her room is right next to mine. So I usually end up hitting the wall and shouting at them to keep it down.” She snorted. “Apparently it’s really hard to focus on fucking when there’s someone yelling about their mid-term paper.”

“Yeah, I can kind of imagine why that would be kind of a mood-killer.” Mikasa opened the door and stepped aside, saying, “After you.” Annie rolled her eyes and smiled, walking in ahead of the other student. “This is my...humble abode.”

Annie glanced back at Mikasa and giggled, “You did _not_ seriously just say that.”

“I think you can tell by the ridiculous smirk on my face that I’m not being serious about it at all.” She walked forward and groaned, seeing the pair of panties on the back of the couch. “I’m killing Ymir later.”

“Ymir is your roommate, I assume?”

“Yep. And these,” she said as she picked up the pair of panties by the waistband, “belong to her girlfriend.”

Smirking wider, Annie chuckled, “Her girlfriend has good taste in underwear.”

Mikasa blushed slightly. “Should I keep that statement in mind?”

“Only if you think it’ll be prudent,” Annie replied airily. She sat on the couch after kicking her shoes off and throwing her coat over the back of the couch.

Mikasa threw the panties in front of Ymir’s bedroom door and then also stripped out of her peacoat. She hung it up and left her shoes by the door. “Is there any specific pizza topping that you like most?”

“Pepperoni or cheese.”

“Any weird ones?”

Annie pouted. “It isn’t weird but I like buffalo chicken pizzas.”

“You are a woman after my own heart.” Mikasa produced a frozen buffalo chicken pizza from the freezer and said, “I thankfully bought one a few days ago.”

“A woman after your heart indeed,” Annie mumbled to herself.

[X]

“What the hell are you picking everything up for?” Hitch asked. She stood with her hands on her hips and watched as Annie picked up the very few items of clothing off of the floor of her bedroom and tossed them in the laundry hamper. “You got a hot date or something?”

Annie turned a deadpan look at her roommate and replied, “Yes, actually. Mikasa is coming over. And we’re gonna watch movies and chill out in the privacy of my own room.”

Hitch rolled her eyes. “Brilliant. You pick clothes up just for the ones you’re wearing to probably get thrown on the floor anyway.” She smirked at the blonde woman. “C’mon, you can’t tell me that you two don’t fuck.”

“Uh, actually, I get some on almost a daily basis. Unless there’s a good reason we can’t but whatever,” Annie said. She shrugged and flopped back on her bed, waiting for the text from Mikasa. When Hitch still didn’t leave, Annie looked at her and questioned, “What’s up?”

“Nothing, just. I dunno, I just felt like telling you that Marlowe and I are going out on a date tonight. So, I’ll be leaving. You and Mikasa will have the place to yourselves.” She turned to go back to her room but just after she stepped out of Annie’s view, she halted and heard her roommate reply.

“I’m happy for you. Marlowe is a really good guy.”

Hitch smiled and grabbed her purse, leaving the door open and waving at Mikasa as she walked up. “She’s waiting in her room. Later.”

When Mikasa shut the door and went to Annie’s room, she smiled and left her shoes and longboard by the bedroom door. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Annie replied softly. She rolled onto her side when Mikasa cuddled up behind her and they started the first movie. “How was Eren?”

“He’s doing better. He was crying almost the entire time for the first two days after they told him that his arm was broken.” She tightened her hold around Annie’s waist. “I take it you like my beanie?” She smiled brighter when she noticed the light blush on her girlfriend’s cheeks. “Have you even taken it off since I gave it to you?”

“When I shower, obviously, or when I go to sleep.” Annie snuggled back against Mikasa and sighed. “I think I’m getting better at skating too.”

Mikasa grinned. “Oh, really? You wanna race sometime?”

Annie rolled slightly to look at her girlfriend and muttered, “I can kick your ass.” She giggled when Mikasa pressed a kiss to her cheek and settled back to watch the movie. “I’m kinda happy I ended up taking that picture when I first saw you. It’s probably one of my favorites.”

“I’m kinda happy I decided to let that old lady take my seat so that I had a reason to sit next to you. You were really cute and I get a little nervous when I try to talk to cute girls.”

“And how did you manage to talk to Historia without any problems?” Annie snorted.

The taller woman blushed and started giggling, hiding her face against Annie’s shoulder. “We were at lunch with Ymir and suddenly, Historia just....belches. It was fucking amazing. She was so red.”

Annie shifted to lay on her back and looked at Mikasa. She blinked slowly and said, “I love you.”

Mikasa went quiet for a few moments and whispered back, “I love you too.”


	2. Cheesy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annie gets embarrassed when mikasa calls her cute; and it doesn't help that Mikasa likes doing that at really random times: while she's eating, while they're walking in the street or in the car etc etc. Annie, therefore, tries embarrassing mikasa by being the cheesiest she possibly can

They were waiting at a stop light. It was raining a little; not heavy enough to pound the roof of the car but enough to make Annie sigh. She mumbled, “How long is this fucking light?” Her fingers tapped the steering wheel impatiently.

Mikasa grunted quietly. Out of nowhere, she said, “You look really cute.”

Annie blushed brightly, happy that the light turned green and let her punch the gas. She muttered, “I hate you so much.” She glanced at her girlfriend and bristled at the smug look on her face. “Shut up.”

Later, while they were eating dinner and watching the evening news, Mikasa ducked her head and kissed Annie’s cheek, saying, “Cutie.” She grinned when Annie groaned and started swearing. 

Then, after Annie went quiet for a few minutes, expression changing from pouting to thoughtful, Mikasa frowned a little. But before she could speak, Annie turned with a smirk and cooed, wrapping her arms around Mikasa’s shoulders, “I love you so much, baby.” 

The rush of blood to her cheeks and neck made her skin tingle as Annie settled on her lap. Mikasa swallowed hard. “Why are you trying to be so cute?” 

“Because you’re so perfect,” Annie replied smoothly, “and you’re so sweet.” She leaned in and kissed Mikasa, giggling when she felt her girlfriend jump. “Aw, what’s wrong, baby doll?”

Mikasa was blushing furiously. “B-baby doll? Annie, what the hell got into you?” Her heart started thundering and her eyes got wide when Annie leaned in again and rubbed their noses together.

"I just wanna be sweet to you, Mika. Or do you like baby doll?” She smirked, “I think I’ll start calling you baby doll.” 

"A-Annie-” Mikasa shivered, resting her hands on her girlfriend’s hips. She turned her head, looking aside and trying not to fall for Annie’s cuddling. “Is this your idea of revenge? For me calling you cute?” 

Nestling her head under Mikasa’s chin and resting her ear against her chest, Annie mumbled, “Your heartbeat is slow and strong. I feel like I could just fall asleep, right here, listening to your heartbeat like a lullaby.” She smiled, knowing that Mikasa couldn’t see. 

Mikasa bit her lip and wrapped her arms around Annie’s shoulders, whispering, “Ok, ok, you win tonight. Just. Can’t we cuddle up and go to sleep?”

"Sure. But you better be handing over my favorite shirt of yours.”

"I’m wearing it.”

"Exactly.”


	3. Firstborn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annie/mikasa cuddling their baby (how it happened is up to you) fluff please!

Annie smiled when she walked into the master bedroom. “Well, aren’t you two adorable?”

On the bed, Mikasa sat in a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt with Natalia cuddled against her chest. The taller woman grinned and whispered, “You should join in. We’ll be the most adorable family on earth.” 

“You are so lame, Mikasa, I swear.” Annie crawled up onto the bed anyway and held her arms open. “Gimme.” 

Pouting a little, Mikasa muttered, “But I wanna hold her.” 

"I’ll hold her and then you can hold me and her.” The blonde woman smiled when Mikasa brightened and handed their daughter over. After cuddling Natalia into a comfortable position, Annie snuggled back against her wife and tilted her head to peek at her. “Better?”

"Mhmm,” Mikasa replied. She kissed Annie’s temple and rested her chin on the other woman’s shoulder to look at their daughter. “She’s so beautiful.” The woman watched carefully as Natalia yawned, stretching her little arms out. “Annie?”

"What is it, Mikasa?” 

"I’m so happy we agreed to have kids.”

Annie shifted slightly and kissed her wife warmly, heat rising and prickling at her neck and ears. She smiled when she pulled back and whispered, “I am too. I was scared at first.” When she felt Natalia wiggle and coo, the woman sat the baby up and Mikasa reached up to support Tali’s head. “We love you, Natalia.”

Mikasa leaned in to kiss the baby’s cheek. “We love you so much.”


	4. Bothersome

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annie is standing near a busstop, and a guy is bothering her. Mikasa drives by on her bike and helps out the cute blonde

“So, you single?” 

Annie sighed, “No.” It was a lie but he didn’t need to know that. Leave it to the short blue-eyed blonde girl to get hit on at the bus stop. She glanced at her phone, anxiously checking the time.

“You must be single,” the man said, “because you don’t have your boyfriend as your lock screen.” He smiled, attempting to be charming. “Name’s Payton.”

“Don’t care,” Annie replied flatly. Traffic was starting to pull up at the stop light and Annie wanted nothing more than to get away. She tensed when he moved over and sat directly beside her on the bench. Annie glared at him, sneering, “Do you know what personal space is?”

He grinned. “Sharing is caring, right?”

She was about ready to rear back at deck him when the sound of a motorcycle idling for much longer than the time needed to fit the light. Annie looked over to see a tall woman with a red scarf and holding her bike helmet. The woman smiled faintly. “Babe, I told you that you just needed to call me if you needed a ride. You know I don’t care.”

Annie felt her heart race as she got up and shouldered her backpack, replying, “Sorry. I knew you worked late last night so I didn’t want to wake you up.” She mouthed, “Thank you.” 

The woman smirked at the bewildered man. “You should really learn how to recognize when a girl isn’t interested. It makes you look stupid.” She held her hand out to Annie and smiled warmly when the girl took her hand. “C'mon, let’s go grab some coffee and then I’ll take you to work.”

"You are perfect,” Annie sighed. As she swung her leg over the bike and settled behind the rider, she smirked at the man. “Told you I wasn’t single.”

His eyes narrowed and he started to get up from his spot. “H-hey, that’s not fair! How am I supposed to know this isn’t that whole ‘girls looking out for each other’ thing? I’m a nice guy, not some creep!”

The dark-haired woman glanced back at Annie and said, “Maybe we should talk to my parents about helping you get moved into my place.”

Annie’s eyes widened. “Would they really mind?” 

"No, of course not. Mom loves you.”

"Your dad kinda doesn’t like me though,” Annie replied.

"Dad doesn’t like anyone.” She revved her bike and gave a mock salute to the man. “Stop hitting on my girl.” They drove off, going up about a block and then turning and coming to a stop. Annie hopped off and looked at the woman, ready to question her. But the biker instead killed the engine and took her helmet off again. She asked,  “Are you all right? He wasn’t taking the hint and I didn’t want you to end up in jail.” 

Annie shrugged, mumbling, “Big deal. He really deserved to get punched in the face.” She shoved her hands in her pockets and said, “Thanks. Uh-” 

"Mikasa,” she supplied. She got off the motorcycle and pointed to the shop behind Annie. “Let me get you that coffee and then I’ll take you where you need.”

Her eyes widened again and Annie turned to see a small coffee shop. “Wait, you were serious about that?”

Mikasa smiled a little more. “Thought you could use it.” She held the door open for Annie and questioned, “Where do I need to take you after this?”

"I was on my way to work at the radio station,” Annie replied. 

"Radio station?”

"I’m an event planner for the alternative station. I help get tickets and find out concert dates and even get local bands on the station.” 

Mikasa said, “That’s awesome. I always listen to the alternative station. My brother loves it and always has it blasting in the back room at the family business.”

"Family business?”

"It’s gonna sound a little weird but it’s a funeral home.”

Annie snorted. “Nice.”

"What’s your name, by the way?”

Annie stared at the woman blankly for a moment before replying, “Annie. Annie Leonhardt.”

"And how do you want your coffee?”

"Dark roast, two sugars, one cream.”


	5. Roses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mikasa and Annie have been coworkers for years, they're the best duo on the job. So when Annie finds a bouquet of roses in front of her door, Mikasa is the first she tells. But little does she know, it was Mikasa who placed them there

Annie blinked and felt heat pricking the back of her neck and on up to her ears and cheeks. She had been a member of the police department for seventeen years and never once had she received roses in front of her office door. Hearing a holler from the open office area of the regular officers, she shot back, “Shut up, Dreyse.” She rolled her eyes and knelt, picking up the bouquet and examining the mix of red and white. When she entered her office, she gently set the flowers on the edge of her desk and bit her lip; there was no card or any real indication as to who they were from. At the knock on the door, she glanced up and saw Mikasa smiling at her. “Morning,” she greeted.

“Good morning,” Mikasa replied quietly. She came in with her mug of coffee and sat in the chair across from her friend. “You look a little perplexed.”

“Never once, in the thirty-eight years that I have been on this earth, have I ever gotten roses outside of my door,” Annie mumbled, eyeing the roses in question. “It’s really sweet, actually.” She huffed. “If only I knew who did it.”

Mikasa’s brows shot up. “Your ex never got you flowers and left them for you?”

The shorter woman deadpanned, “She’s my ex for a reason, Ackerman. Not everyone is as inordinately and almost obnoxiously thoughtful as-” Her eyes widened marginally and she stared openly at her longtime partner. “Mikasa?”

She smiled faintly, seemingly unfazed. “What is it?”

“Did…you leave me these roses?”

“Do you know what certain colors and flowers mean?” Mikasa questioned. When Annie shrugged, she continued, “Everyone knows about the red rose meaning ‘passionate love’ and white means 'purity.’ But the combination of red and white means 'unity.’” She averted her eyes for a moment and chuckled. “We’ve worked together for a long time. Been friends for slightly less time.”

Annie smiled weakly. “Because when you first got here, you thought you were some amazing cop and I had to knock you down a few pegs.”

“I’d really like it if you’d go out to dinner with me tomorrow night,” Mikasa said. “You’re not obligated to, obviously, because I know that Annie Leonhardt does nothing she doesn’t want to do.”

Annie felt her cheeks grow hot and she shifted in her chair. “I’d like that, actually. But I’m telling you now, this better not fuck with our record here. Because we’ve managed to solve some of the most difficult cases at this goddamn precinct and I’m not willing to risk my pension just because you’re fucking cute.”

Mikasa bit her lip and giggled. “Annie, I’m thirty-seven, it’s been a while since I’ve been cute.”

“Are you stupid all of a sudden or are you honestly unaware of how attractive you are?”

“Just- be ready for me to pick you up at eight tomorrow night, ok?” The other detective stood and ran a hand lightly over the scar on her cheek. She flashed a smile at her partner. “I’m glad you like the roses.”

Annie blushed and pursed her lips as she looked aside, allowing herself to smile shyly. “Thank you, Mikasa.”


	6. Birds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mikasa can turn into a raven at will, Annie finds out. (Annie is fascinated by all kinds of birds)

Mikasa reclined on the bench while Annie sat on the grass and read through her history of defensive magic. She hummed, “Are you ever going to actually try those spells?”

“My goal,” Annie muttered, “is to improve on these spells. I can understand how you would fail to see the importance of such a thing.” She glanced back at the taller woman and poked her cheek. “So what about you? You still refuse to tell me what your inherent skill is.”

Her girlfriend smirked and turned her head to look at the blonde. She reached out and gently caught a few strands of Annie’s bangs between her fingers, watching her expression carefully. When the blonde witch’s eyes widened marginally at the contact, Mikasa said, “It’s a surprise.” She let go of Annie’s hair and tucked an arm under her head while she closed her eyes again. “I’ll show you eventually.”

“Oh, wow, a cardinal.” Mikasa raised her head again at the exclamation from Annie and watched as the little red bird flapped by. “Sorry. My dad always took me with him to the aviary. He enchanted them to help the carrier birds stay safe while flying.” Annie smiled softly for a moment before looking back at the book in her lap.

It was then that a faint whoosh of air brushed by Annie’s ear and she turned to see that the bench was empty, save for a large raven. The bird cocked its head at Annie and hopped forward a little.

“Mikasa?” Annie whispered in awe. She raised her hand, hesitating for only a second to allow the raven a chance to move. Then, gently, she ran the back of her index finger down the jet-black feathers of Mikasa’s head.

The raven ruffled a little but otherwise did not try to stop the affectionate touch. She raised her head when Annie’s fingertips lightly brushed under her beak and stroked the feathers on her chest. When her girlfriend held her hand up, Mikasa lightly stepped on and braced herself while Annie slowly turned and examined her.

“How long have you been able to do this?” The blonde watched with wide eyes as the raven hopped down to the ground and with another waft of air, Mikasa sat before her with legs crossed and a smug smile. “Well?”

“I’ve been able to turn into a raven for as long as I can remember. I just didn’t know when would be the best time to show you.” Her smile softened. “I take it you liked the surprise?”

Annie averted her gaze for a moment and blushed lightly. She mumbled inaudibly. But when Mikasa’s hand lightly rested on her knee, Annie replied, “Yes. I liked the surprise.”

Mikasa grinned and leaned in to press a soft kiss to Annie’s cheek. “I’m going to do that whenever your dad is supposed to come over though.”

“Mikasa, no-”

“Mikasa, yes, are you kidding me? That’s gonna be hilarious to see him trying to chase me around the apartment, trying to enchant me.”

“You are a horrible person.”


	7. Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How about Mikasa and Annie having trained at the same place, and they got together back then, but they were recruited into the army of different countries, who are now at war. At one battle the leaders decide to settle it by letting their best warriors fight each other. It's the first time Mikasa and Annie see each other in years, with the order to kill the other.

“This wasn’t what I had hoped.”

Annie’s eyes grew sad as she nodded. “Me either.”

Mikasa said, “I don’t want to do this, Annie.” She bit her lip and clenched her fists at her side. “I don’t want to kill you. I don’t want this.”

“I know, Mika,” Annie whispered softly. She undid the clasp on the sheath of her knife and settled into a stance. “But we can’t just run away together.”

The taller woman drew her own blade and held it backhand, swallowing hard and muttering, “The world is too cruel to just let us do that.” 

It was just like training. But then it was nothing like training. There were no smirks, no snide remarks, no quick promises of making up later in the barracks. Mikasa’s brute strength provided her with opportunities to disorient Annie by landing punches to her head. Annie’s speed and technique left Mikasa with shallow gashes to her arms and face. 

Even years later, Annie had to admit that they remained fairly evenly matched. A swell of nostalgia nearly choked her as she saw an opening and drove her knife forward. The grunt of pain made her close her eyes and draw back, only to stab again and again. Mikasa’s blade was buried in Annie’s right shoulder. She didn’t pull out and try to keep stabbing. Annie looked up to see the woman biting her lip. “Mika…” 

Her knees buckled out of pain and Mikasa grunted, falling against Annie and clutching the woman’s shirt. “You still know where…to hit…” She held on tight as Annie lowered her to the ground and coughed. The pain in her side was starting to compound. “You hit a couple organs, didn’t you?” 

"P-probably,” Annie replied. She reached up and pulled the knife from her shoulder, gasping sharply at the pain. The blonde soldier looked at Mikasa and whispered, “I’m sorry. But my country comes before my personal wishes.”

Mikasa swallowed, a weak smile coming to her face. “What was your personal wish, Leonhardt?”

"Don’t you call me that,” Annie hissed. “Don’t you call me that now. Not now, Mikasa, c'mon.”

"Just answer me, Annie, please.” She opened her eyes to look at the blonde woman and had to blink to focus. 

"I wished…” Annie winced and slammed her hand over the wound in her shoulder, trying to apply steady pressure. “I wished we could be together. I wanted to make it out of the war. And meet you again.”

"I like that wish,” Mikasa mumbled thickly. They were silent for a few minutes before Mikasa whispered, “I wanted to say this…before my hearing goes… I love you, Annie. I didn’t say it back then because I knew we’d get separated.” She shook as she tugged the tags from around her neck and pressed them to Annie’s chest. “But I guess it’s happening anyway.”

Annie put the tags on and slipped them under her shirt. “Why say it now though?” Her eyes stung with tears as she leaned over the taller woman and whimpered, “Why did you say it now when you’re leaving me again?”

"Because I wanted you to know that you weren’t just someone to keep me company. You were one hell of a challenge.” She looked at Annie and asked, “Will you smile for me?”

Annie let the tears fall as she smiled and laughed, “You’re so stupid, Mikasa. You’re so stupid.” She leaned over and kissed her, feeling Mikasa’s body trembling. “I love you. I love you too, Mikasa. Rest well.”

"Remain victorious.” Mikasa coughed and breathed in one last time, her chest shaking as she gave her final exhale


	8. Just Business

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How about gangbanger Annie meets with Mafia leader Mikasa for a alliance? 

The idea was originally to just make a truce. The turf war had started to get out of hand and once Annie’s bruiser, Reiner, had gotten shot in the leg, she decided to call a meeting. They chose to meet on neutral ground, opting for an upscale restaurant. There would be no back-up and no weapons. Before she pocketed her keys, Reiner walked down the stairs and asked, “Are you sure about this? Mikasa is a big mafia boss. We’re just-”

“We’re just gangbangers. I know, Reiner.” Annie glanced up at him. “It’ll be fine. I can handle this.” She stepped out, popping the collar of her peacoat to keep the chill off her neck. The drive was mildly trying, as traffic was it’s usual congested mess. But when she arrived, the valet took her car and she walked in. Mikasa was already seated. Annie felt the back of her neck prickle with heat, swallowing to keep down the lump forming. “Ackerman?”

Mikasa raised her gaze to Annie and smiled slowly. “You clean up well.”

Sneering, Annie sat and leaned back in her chair. “Could say the same to you.”

The other woman smirked. “So. How’s your friend? Is his leg healing properly?” 

Her brows drew together and Annie muttered, “He’s just fine. Able to walk still.” 

"Good. I try to press the ‘no kill’ policy with the guys,” Mikasa said. She sipped at her wine and set it down, adding, “I was upset that your friend got shot in the first place, however. Turf wars are stupid.” 

The blonde gang leader watched as the mafia boss tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear; she was elegant in a way that Annie felt added to the image of being in charge. She replied, “I get the feeling there’s something you wanted to add to that.”

"There is,” Mikasa retorted, “because there’s a slight issue that has come to my attention. I run weapons and cars. But there’s someone intruding on my enterprise. And they’re also introducing drugs into the mix.”

“And you want to find out who it is?” Annie frowned and took a drink of wine. “I know a bit about the drug ring. And I have my own running. So I dislike anyone thinking they can come in on that.” 

Mikasa smiled again.  “I think we can come to an agreement. You help me find out who’s getting in the way of my guns and I’ll help you stop their drugs.”  

"Hm. It sounds good but,” Annie sighed, “I think I have a better idea.”

The mafia boss hummed flatly. “And what would that be?”

Annie sat forward, resting her chin on the back of her hand. “I want a full alliance. I make a lot of money with my business. And you make a lot also. We join up, we gain area and we gain more business.” She smiled. Annie looked the other woman up and down. “Sound fair?”

Mikasa tilted her head, smiling also. “Fair.” She paused and asked, “So. Do you have anyone? As a life partner?”

"Nah. Haven’t found the right woman yet,” Annie responded. “She has to know how to handle me.”

"I think I can handle you,” Mikasa replied smoothly. 

Their meals arrived and after the waiter had walked away, Annie shot back, “I want you to prove it.”

"How about, after dinner, you come to my place? I have a workout room. We could spar.” The mafia boss smirked. “I don’t think it’ll take much to put you on your back.”

Annie’s lips twitched into a smirk as she said, “I think this sparring match won’t go quite as easily as you think.”


	9. Swip Swap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The only prompt idea I have at the moment is where Mikasa and Annie switch bodies. 

When she woke up, Annie was confused when she was met with the feeling of a smaller body pressed against her own. “Mikasa?” There was more confusion when her voice didn’t sound at all like normal. But it was when her vision went from sleep-blurred to sharp that panic set in. The smaller body she has felt was her own. She swore and leaped back, “What the fuck?” 

“What the- Annie, what’s going on?” On the bed, the woman sat up and rubbed her eyes. When she turned, her eyes widened and she looked down. “Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no. What happened?” 

"I- I don’t know.” Annie stood, looking at her own body and questioning, “Mikasa, what are we going to do? How did this happen?” She paused and glanced down, running her hands over her abs. “Damn. Are you ever just totally in awe of how fucking ripped you are?”

Brows lowering, Mikasa shot back, “Would you stop touching me?”

Annie smirked. “I dunno, I think I’m technically touching myself right now.”

"Actually, if you started touching this body, you would be touching yourself.”

The woman blinked and looked at Mikasa, mumbling, “How the hell do you deal with me in the morning? Fuck, I look like a hot mess.” 

Mikasa tilted her head- Annie’s head, actually- and replied, “You look adorable in the morning.” She glanced at the clock and then back at Annie. “You don’t have anywhere to be, right?” 

"Nah. Why?” 

"We have to figure out what the fuck we’re gonna do,” Mikasa replied, “because we need to get back into our own bodies.” She stood and went to the closet, looking through the clothes. “We seriously need to just move in together. Good thing you look cute in my clothes because otherwise your body would be wandering around my apartment naked.”

Annie deadpanned, “You act like that’s out of the ordinary.”

"It’s not but I’M in your body! And I’m not gonna wander around naked.” She glanced at Annie. “And please get dressed.”

Annie smirked, the expression looking foreign to Mikasa on her own face. “Why?”

"Because that’s my body and I don’t want it naked.” She felt a shiver go down her spine when her own body approached. It was strange to have to look up at Annie- herself, in a way. Mikasa swallowed hard and whispered, “What?” 

The hand that cupped her cheek was warm. Annie tilted her head and kept Mikasa’s gaze. “Is this what it’s like for you when you look at me?”

"What do you mean?”

"I just feel like I need to protect you,” Annie replied. She huffed a short laugh. “Weird, considering you’re in my body. But I guess maybe I’m feeling what you feel.”

"I know that I don’t have to protect you,” Mikasa said softly, “but I do feel that. I want to protect the people I love.” She paused and lifted herself up on tip-toe to press her lips to Annie’s, a vague feeling of awkwardness flitting by at the knowledge that she was kissing herself. When she pulled back slightly, eyes still closed and lips still close enough to feel the other woman’s breath. “I kind of get why you like pulling me down to kiss you. Standing on your toes hurts after a minute or two.” She giggled softly when Annie laughed. “We really do need to figure out what happened though.” She patted her abs and said, “Get dressed. I’ll find my book on spells and potions to see if there’s an easy fix.”

Annie hummed. She smirked and slipped her arms around Mikasa, walking backwards and kissing her neck softly, leaving soft nips to the skin. “It can wait a little while.” Her smile grew when Mikasa giggled and squirmed.  “We’ll repeat that spell we tried last night and hope that it reverses this.” She heaved Mikasa onto the bed and smiled down at her. “I’ve been curious about what you feel with me.”

–

"I can’t believe that was it.” Mikasa rolled off of Annie, panting quietly. “Why didn’t we notice last night?” 

Annie, panting also and sprawled on her back, replied, “I think we messed up and missed a line of the spell or something. Who cares, we’re back in our own bodies. But by the spirit of the Moon, your stamina is fucking insane.”

Mikasa slipped an arm under Annie’s back and pulled her close, getting the blonde woman to cuddle against her side. “I knew you always came multiple times but how the hell do you manage it? I thought the first time was potent.”

"I’m just that talented,” Annie mumbled. “What time is it?”

The taller woman glanced at the clock. “Noon.”

"Good. We can eat and then nap for a bit before your brother turns.”

Mikasa groaned and ran a hand over her face. “Shit.”


	10. Run Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Imagine mikasa has a st. Bernard dog and one day while walking it, it pulls away from the leash and knocks a certain blonde cutie over.

Toby always got his walk after Mikasa got home from work. She would get in the door and there was Toby, pushing his leash across the floor with his nose. “Hang on a sec, Tobe.” She patted his head and set her purse on the coffee table. Grabbing her keys, she shoved them into her pocket. Her cell phone was in the zipped breast pocket of her jacket and after she hooked the leash on Toby’s collar, they headed out. 

He was a calm dog; a big, furry St. Bernard who usually spent lazy mornings with a long nap. So when Mikasa felt a tug on the leash as they went for their usual walk at the park, she was startled and clutched the leash tighter. “Toby, what’s wrong?” He jerked forward again, almost pulling her off her feet. “Toby!” He barked and reared up once, landing with enough force to pull the leash out of his owner’s hand. 

While Toby started bounding down the running path, Mikasa sprinted after him, shouting, “Toby, heel! Stop!” A surprised scream went up and Mikasa’s hear sank as she saw Toby standing over a runner. She grabbed his leash and collar, pulling him back. “I’m so sorry! Toby has never done this before!” Her face warmed slightly when she saw the runner was a cute blonde woman. She was smaller than Mikasa but her arms and legs were lean and well-muscled. “Did he hurt you?”

She waved off Mikasa’s hand, grunting, “Yeah, I’m fine.” She stood and glanced at Mikasa, eyes widening a little. “Your dog is fucking massive, you know that?”

Mikasa nodded. “I got him at the shelter. He’s only two.” The woman glanced at the ground before looking back at the runner. “Can… Can I buy you a coffee or something?”

The blonde paused and smirked. “Are you offering because you feel bad?“

"Well, only a little. But you’re also very attractive and I’m kind of happy my dog knocked you over.”

She started laughing and Mikasa felt her cheeks grow even hotter. “You are seriously weird, holy shit.” The blonde woman ran a hand over her forehead and sighed. “You wanna go now?”

"Now?” Mikasa blinked but quickly nodded. “Sure. Uh. I’m Mikasa, by the way.” She held her hand out and smiled when the woman shook her hand.

"Annie. So now I know who you are. Mikasa with the bear-horse-dog.”

Mikasa giggled. “Sounds like something from Avatar.”

"Oh God, you mean the show on Nickelodeon, right?”

"Yes. You watched it?” 

Annie smiled. “Let’s walk and talk. I want that coffee.”

With Toby walking calmly by her side and Annie on the other side, Mikasa began talking animatedly with the cute blonde her dog had run down.


	11. On Duty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mikasa takes Eren to the hospital because he hurt himself during training and gets very distracted by the cute little blond doctor on duty.

“Eren, how did you manage to stab yourself in the hand?” Mikasa kept her eyes on the road as she headed to the hospital. Eren sat in the passenger seat, hand wrapped in a bloody t-shirt and pressed between his knees to apply steady pressure. “Eren,” she repeated, a warning tone to her voice. 

He whined, “It was an accident, I swear! I was doing the bayonet course to get another part of training on my record and it swung back from the rubber dummy and- ow, shit.”

Mikasa sighed heavily as she pulled into the parking lot outside of the emergency room. “C'mon, let’s go.” 

Inside, Eren rushed to the desk and spoke quickly, “I stabbed myself in the hand during training and it’s bleeding really, really bad and I think I’m starting to get light-headed and I think I need stitches.” The nurses looked at one another, eyes wide, before ushering Eren and Mikasa to a room. Eren sat on the bed, tears streaming down his face as he swore, “Mom is never gonna let me finish the academy.”

“I don’t know how you expect to be a cop when you keep injuring yourself,” his sister muttered. 

He shot a glare at her and opened his mouth to snap back when there was a knock on the door. A young woman with blonde hair pulled into a bun entered, eyes looking at a clipboard as she said, “I’m Doctor Leonhardt. Mister… Jaeger.. What seems to be the problem?” She finally looked up and saw the bloody t-shirt; a bemused look came to her face and she snorted, “What did you do?” 

Eren scowled. “I was doing my bayonet training during the police academy as an extra course and the bayonet came back off the rubber dummy and went through my hand.” 

In the chair beside the bed, Mikasa stared at the doctor, feeling heat start to crawl up her spine. The blonde woman glanced at Mikasa questioningly and she cleared her throat to say, “I’m Mikasa. His sister.” 

"Does this happen often?” the doctor asked. She moved over to the cabinets and began to get certain things out, setting them on the counter. “By the way, I’m going to sterilize the wound and then stitch it up. You’ll get a local anaesthetic and then I’m going to bandage it. After that, I’ll tell you how to care for it. All right, Mister Jaeger?”

“Y-yeah.” 

She turned and looked at Mikasa. “You didn’t answer me. Does your brother get hurt like this often?”

Mikasa nodded. “Unfortunately.” She watched as the doctor sat and began to carefully clean the wound. However, her focus was not on the bloody mess of Eren’s hand but instead on the pretty blonde at work. 

"You aren’t squeamish, are you? You can step outside if you need to, Mikasa,” the woman suggested. 

"Oh, no, no. I’m fine.” She paused. “How many stitches are you giving him?”

"Five for the first layer, six on the second and then six on the other side of his hand.” The doctor glanced up at Eren and when she saw how dazed he looked, she said, “Hey, Jaeger, talk to me. Ask questions or something.”

"Uh… What’s your name again?” 

“Annie Leonhardt.” She asked, “Do you have a significant other?”

"Yeah,” Eren replied, his speech lilting, “his name is Armin. We’ve been together for ten years.”

Annie hummed. “Impressive. Keep talking.” She used a local anesthetic before she began to do the first layer of stitches. Glancing up at Eren, she urged, “Eren, keep talking to me. What else is going on?”

"Mikasa is single.”

Mikasa’s cheeks grew hot and she looked away from the doctor, realizing she had been staring at her. “Eren, what does that have to do with anything?”

Annie smiled but stayed quiet as Eren continued, “You’re totally her type.” He grinned. “Seriously!” 

The doctor glanced at her patient’s sister and smirked to see Mikasa glaring at the young man. “Well, it’s not often that I get told I’m someone’s type.” Annie cut the thread of the first layer and started the second layer. A few minutes passed and she looked at Mikasa, smirking again. “Can’t say I’m complaining though. Your sister is attractive.”

Eren gasped, “Right?” He looked at Mikasa and mouthed, “Ask her out.”

"No,” she mouthed back. Looking at the doctor, she muttered, “I think he’s a little woozy from blood loss or something, I’m sorry.” Mikasa grabbed her scarf and pulled it up over her nose, mumbling quietly.

Annie finished the stitches and got a roll of bandages, saying, “All right. For the first forty-eight hours, you need to keep your hand and the bandages completely dry. Change your bandages once every day. If it gets wet or dirty, change it right then. Try not to put any pressure on it.” She glanced at Mikasa and pointed to Eren. “Do you guys live together?” 

"No,” Mikasa responded, “but I do live close.” 

"Good.” Annie scribbled on a note and handed it to Mikasa. “He should take some painkillers. My office number is on there but I also wrote my cell number on the back.” She smirked. “Just call me if you have any questions.” 

Mikasa stood with Eren and while he headed to the door, the dark-haired woman asked, “Would you wanna come over for dinner sometime?”

“Would you wanna come over forever?” Eren asked from outside.

As Annie bit her lip and snorted, Mikasa ran a hand over her face and sighed, “No more Disney references, please.” 

Annie smiled softly at the taller woman and said, “Text me tomorrow afternoon. I’m on shift until midnight, so I won’t get home and in bed till about one or two.” 

Mikasa smiled back. “All right.” 


	12. Fighting Dreamers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> school!AU Mikasa and Annie go to the same school but have never really interacted before. Mikasa's the super popular somewhat stoic heartthrob and Annie's the quiet social outcast with a love of anime. One day, Mikasa and Annie get paired up for a project and Mikasa's phone rings while they're working. Her ringtone is the "Fighting Dreamers" theme from Naruto and Annie immediately notices. They begin a conversation and end up bonding over their favorite animes.

They were in a lot of classes together but never once did they really have a conversation. They were nearly on opposite ends of the social spectrum, with Mikasa being the stoic and beautiful heartthrob of the school while Annie was the quiet outcast who kept to herself and watched anime on her phone during lunch. So when their teacher announced they would be working together on a project, confusion didn’t take long to settle. 

It wasn’t until after school that Mikasa found Annie in the school parking lot. “Hey, about our project. Do you wanna head to Stack’s and work?” 

Annie blinked and shifted the strap of her messenger bag. “Sure, I guess. Do you wanna drive or should I?” 

Mikasa rubbed the back of her neck. “I didn’t drive today. My car is in the shop. I’ve been having some transmission trouble.” 

“All right,” Annie mumbled. “C'mon, I’ll drive.” As Mikasa put her backpack in the floorboard and got buckled, Annie turned the radio down. They remained quiet during the drive and when they pulled in, the blonde girl asked, “You wanna go in on a couple limeades?”

"Yeah,” Mikasa replied. She dug in her purse for a couple dollars and handed them to Annie as she ordered. Then, she pulled her binder from her backpack and said, “I am really not interested in doing a paper on the Maria-Rose Scandal.”

"Well,” the other girl began, “it isn’t the most interesting time in history but it was important.” She grabbed her messenger bag, digging in one of the pockets for a pencil. As Annie flipped through the pages of her notebook, Mikasa noticed little sketches and pages filled with drawings. She said nothing but waited as the blonde found a blank page. “Besides, the Maria-Rose Scandal actually was only part of what led to President Rohdan being impeached. He was also found guilty a few months later of embezzling funds that were originally meant to go into a federal education grant.” 

The dark-haired girl blinked and said, “I knew he was going guilty of something but I didn’t know it was that.” Their limeades arrived and while Annie sipped at the drink, Mikasa got a book out and flipped to the chapter covering the incident. “He was also found guilty of bribery.” 

As Annie was writing, Mikasa jumped to hear her phone go off. She fumbled to answer it as Annie stared at her openly. Mikasa answered, explaining that she was working on a school project but would be home for dinner. When she ended the call, the blonde girl said, “You have ‘Fighting Dreamers’ as your ringtone?” 

"Yeah… I’ve watched Naruto since I was 13. I started reading it first though. I stumbled across it while I was looking for new music.” She felt her cheeks warm slightly until Annie tossed her notebook into Mikasa’s lap. The girl gasped, “You drew Ino. She looks so great. When did you start drawing?” 

"When I got injured at a competition,” Annie replied, “and so I couldn’t practice or anything until I got healed up. So I spent a lot of time watching Naruto and drawing.” She added, “I also started watching Bleach.”

Mikasa rubbed the back of her neck again and said, “I also got into this one manga called Girl Friends. It’s really cute.”

Annie tilted her head a little. “What’s it about?”

"It’s about this girl, Mari, who starts to become friends with this really popular girl named Akko and they eventually fall in love. It’s really, really cute. It gets a little emotional sometimes though.” 

The shorter girl asked, “Do you have it?” 

"Yeah, do you wanna borrow it?” 

Very little was actually completed on their project as they continued to discuss their favorite anime. It ended with swapping numbers and Mikasa receiving a sketch of Sakura from Annie.

They started dating six months later.


	13. It's ok

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mikanni ackerhardt au. Annie's pain on failed regnancies and Mikasa comforting her

She hadn’t left the bathroom for a solid hour. Mikasa had taken up vigil outside, watching the door for any sign of Annie coming out. They had gone to the doctor nearly a month ago and their hopes had been high when the signs of Annie’s period didn’t come. But as Mikasa sat and watched the door, her heart began to ache and the feeling that something was terribly wrong settled in her gut. She tried again at knocking, softly asking, “Annie, what’s wrong?” 

 The door clicked as it opened and there stood Annie, eyes red and cheeks stained with tears. She didn’t say anything and kept her head low. Her hands were shaking as she stayed in the doorway, unmoving.

“Oh, Annie,”  Mikasa whispered quietly, “it came.” Without another word, she grabbed her wife’s hand and gently guided her back to the bedroom. Annie went willingly, sitting on the bed as the detective fetched Annie’s favorite throw blanket. As she covered her wife, easing her back onto the pillows, Mikasa kissed her brow and muttered, “Be right back.” 

The detective was unsure of what to do. The last time Annie had gone absolutely silent was when they received word of her mother’s death. She stood in the middle of the kitchen, running a hand through her hair as she thought of what to do. Mikasa prepared some of the strawberry rose tea that Annie loved and sighed as she carried it up the stairs, wondering how best to comfort her wife. When she walked into the bedroom, Annie was still in the same position and just staring at nothing. 

She set the tea down on Annie’s bedside table and sat on the edge of the bed as she reached up and rested her hand on Annie’s shoulder. “It’s your favorite, Annie.” 

There was no response and she bit her lip. Mikasa instead crawled up to sit next to Annie and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. They continued to sit there silently and the detective felt her chest grow tight when she felt her wife begin to quiver again. She made no sound except for sharp, staggered breathing and sniffling. Mikasa pulled Annie closer, nearly into her lap as her wife quieted again.

It was a cycle through the rest of the day and even into the night until Annie finally fell asleep. Mikasa called into work the next morning and Annie didn’t say anything about it except to quietly whisper thank you and kiss Mikasa’s cheek.


	14. Cake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Do one where annie loves yellow cake but mikasa despises it and she makes annie one for her birthday

Mikasa scowled at the recipe but followed the instructions regardless. She made sure to get all of the batter from the mixing bowl, having no desire to waste any. Yellow cake was far from Mikasa’s favorite; she’d even venture to say she hated it. But it was Annie’s favorite, so Mikasa steeled herself and decided to surprise her girlfriend. Annie was out with her dad which allowed Mikasa the chance to bake a birthday cake for her.

While she waited for it to bake, Mikasa picked up around their apartment. With Annie in nursing school while also balancing a full-time job and Mikasa working two jobs to pay for their apartment and utilities, things were kind of tight. So when Annie’s birthday rolled around, Mikasa made sure to save up a little money to get a gift. They had been together for four years and lived together for two. Mikasa was unsure of when Annie would be back, so as soon as her girlfriend had left, Mikasa immediately started baking. Things with Annie’s dad were a little tense at times; he had only just reconnected with his daughter a year earlier after falling out of contact with Annie.

The oven dinged and Mikasa rushed to get the cake out. She grabbed a toothpick and stuck it in the middle of the cake, pulling it out slowly and smiling to see that there was nothing clinging to it. With the cake completely done, she carefully removed it from the pan to cool. Mikasa went about making the cream cheese frosting that Sasha had given her the recipe for.

Two hours later, Mikasa heard the door open and Annie announced, “Babe, ’m home.”

Mikasa sat up from where she had been reclining on their couch and greeted, “Hey, Annie.” She got to her feet and smiled, eagerly accepting Annie into a hug. “You were gone for a while. Things go ok?”

“Yeah, I guess. He apologized for all the shit that happened while I was growing up.” She rested her head against Mikasa’s shoulder and sighed.

“Well, I got something for you. But first: your birthday cake.”

Annie rolled her eyes and groaned, “Mikasa, if it’s another store-bought cake- ”

“It’s not, I made it myself. C'mon,” Mikasa replied. She lead her girlfriend into the kitchen and motioned to the cake with blue cream cheese frosting. “Happy birthday, babe.”

“Aw, Mika… ” She glanced at Mikasa and tugged her shirt to bring her down for a kiss. “Thank you.” Annie grinned and cut into the cake. “Oh my God, it’s yellow cake.” She smiled and as she took a bite, her eyes closed and she hummed. “Holy shit, this is good.”

Mikasa grinned proudly. “I’m glad it turned out ok. I didn’t taste the batter for obvious reasons.” She glanced at the ground and felt anxiety begin to settle in her chest as a dull tightening. Mikasa said, “With how tight things are right now, I couldn’t afford anything really expensive.” Mikasa dug in her pocket and knelt. She held up a little box with a ring. “Will you marry me?”

The shorter woman stared at the ring and slowly set her plate aside. Annie’s cheeks reddened and she muttered, “So that’s why you didn’t want to get a joint account.”

Mikasa smiled sheepishly. “Guilty.” She gently pressed, “So?”

“So yes, we can get married. But I don’t want you to get a new engagement ring.” She waited for Mikasa to stand up and slip the ring on her finger to kiss her fiancée again. “Seriously though, I don’t want you to get a new one.”

“Are you sure? It’s…pretty simple.”

Annie shrugged. “Yes, this is beautiful. I love the simplicity.”


	15. Baby pictures

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> mikaani where one of them brings the other home to meet their parents who keep trying to show them baby or embarrassing pictures?

Before they even stepped on the porch, Mikasa turned to Annie and said, “If my mom asks if you wanna see cute pictures of me, say no.”

Annie blinked, looking somewhat bemused as she muttered, “Uhm, ok? Why?”

“Just…. say no,” Mikasa replied. She opened the door and called, “Mom, I’m home. I brought Annie.” She smiled when Carla swept into the room and hugged the shorter woman gently. Carla wrapped her arms around Mikasa’s neck and the young woman took it as an opportunity to lift her mother off her feet.

“Mikasa!” Carla laughed. She patted the girl’s head as she was set down again. Then, turning her attention to Annie, she pulled her into a hug and chimed, “It’s so good to see you again! C'mon, dinner isn’t ready just yet so we can sit in the family room for a little while.” Carla led the way, looking over her shoulder to smile at Annie. “How’s school, Annie?”

“It’s good, Mrs. Jaeger, thanks,” Annie answered. She glanced at Mikasa when her girlfriend took her hand and flashed a smile at her. They sat beside each other on the couch while Carla took a seat nearby. “And how are you?” She grinned. “How’s Eren?”

“Oh my God, his classes are ridiculous. He’s doing good but it’s so crazy still having him live here.” She rolled her eyes and muttered, “God love ‘im though, he’s so excited to be a nurse.” After a few more minutes, she asked, “Are you doing anything for Halloween, Annie?”

Annie shook her head slowly. “No?”

“Oh gosh, we used to have Halloween parties for the kids-” She gasped, “Do you want to see pictures of the one when Mikasa and Eren dressed as Luke and Leia? They were so cute. I also have the cutest picture of Mikasa when she was four. She was dressed as a dalmatian.”

Mikasa blushed and hissed, “Mom, no.” She glanced to see Annie grinning. “Mom, uhm, isn’t the food about done?” She smiled when the timer went off.

“Oh, good.” She went to the foot of the stairs and hollered, “Eren, Grisha, it’s dinner time!” As she rushed to get the food off the heat, Eren came rushing down the stairs and barreling into the kitchen. Mikasa and Annie snickered when they heard Carla chide, “Eren Broderick Jaeger, you get your finger out of that stew right this instant.”

“But mom, I’m hungry!”

“We’re about to eat! Set the table!” Carla peeked out of the kitchen and motioned to the couple. “C'mon, time to eat.”

As they stood, Annie muttered, “A dalmatian, huh?”

Mikasa ran a hand over her face. “Oh my God, no…”

–

After dinner, they spent time in the family room again. Grisha excused himself to his study and left Eren and Carla to sit and talk with Annie and Mikasa. Mikasa laughed, “Wow, Eren, you’re just not getting a break.”

“A break?” He snorts, “What’s that? My life revolves around college classes and trying to keep my room clean.”

“Speaking of which,” Carla began.

Eren groaned, “Mom, no…”

She rolled her eyes and sighed, “Good Lord, it’s fine. You’ve been keeping up with everything. I was just going to mention that cute picture of you and Mikasa when you were one or two. And you were sitting side by side in a laundry basket and it was just so sweet-”

Eren and Mikasa exclaimed in unison, “Mom!”

“Annie, do you want to see some of those pictures? They’re cute and these two are just being sensitive.” She got up and grabbed a photo album, sitting down on Annie’s other side. Mikasa brought her scarf up as she sank down into the couch, shutting her eyes and trying to drown out Annie’s remarks. Carla peeked around Annie and patted Mikasa’s knee. “You stop that, you were precious.”

Annie said, “Oh God, Mikasa, you were pouting. It hasn’t changed, you still make that face!” She grinned and kept looking through the pictures.

“You have got to be kidding me,” Eren muttered. He crossed his arms and huffed.

“Annie, I asked you to say no…” Mikasa grumbled under her breath. She frowned when Annie nudged her, glaring at her girlfriend.

Annie smirked, “Awww, Mika, c'mon, you look so cute in all these. Look how tiny you were!”

Mikasa sank further into the chair and groaned, “Noooo…”


	16. Injured at Work

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mikannie detective au Mikasa gets hurt on the case and Annie worries about her like a charming idiot (sequel to Roses)

At thirty-nine, Mikasa had not expected to be shot on a case and in turn, stuck with her arm in a sling. She smiled when Annie took a few fast steps ahead to open the door. “I do still have one good arm, Annie.”

“So? I just don’t want the door to swing back and hit your arm while you walk through,” Annie grumbled. She turned her head away while Mikasa walked inside, unable to fully hide the blush starting to color her cheeks.

“Thank you,” the taller detective mumbled. She grinned as her partner walked protectively on her injured side. “You worry too much.”

“I worry just enough,” the blonde retorted. She glanced at Mikasa and then at her injured arm. “First time you get shot and it’s because you saw the gun first and knocked me out of the way.”

Inside the precinct, they first went to Annie’s office. The woman doffed her coat and purse, putting it in a locked drawer. Then, she followed Mikasa to her office and helped the other detective out of her coat. “Annie, my arm is in a cast and a sling. I’m fine, you don’t have to be so careful.”

“C'mere,” Mikasa said. She beckoned to Annie and grinned, pulling her down into a kiss. “I think it’s very sweet that you’re worrying about me. But I’m fine. We’re partners.”

Annie blushed brighter and lowered her gaze as she mumbled, “I know. I just can’t help it. You got shot keeping me safe.”

“It’ll be ok, babe,” the woman replied gently. She pulled Annie into another quick kiss. “However, you can help me by getting me a cup of coffee and helping me fill out paperwork. Because my dominant hand is out of commission right now.”

“Your mouth certainly isn’t,” Annie muttered under her breath.

“Well, you found that out last night, didn’t you?” Mikasa teased. She laughed when Annie leveled a withering look at her. “C'mon, I thought you were worried about me.”

“I am; I’m worried I might smack you.”


	17. Gangland

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Do you think you could do a Mikannie ganster au? Maybe Mikasa as the leader or something

Mikasa hadn’t anticipated for a shootout but she always made sure to prepare for anything. So after the newcomers decided to stupidly start shooting, her squad quickly put them down. They weren’t without injury though and Mikasa suffered a shot to her left side. On the drive back to the mansion, Armin sat in the back seat with Mikasa and started first aid while Eren drove. “Eren, fucking Christ, can’t you slow down on the corners?” Mikasa swore.

“I’m trying to get you back to the mansion as fast as I fucking can- I’m not Annie, I can’t fucking drive like a goddamn professional!” He turned onto the path up to the mansion and the car squealed to a halt. Eren jumped out and helped Armin ease their boss out of the back seat. “Annie is gonna fucking kill me for this…”

Armin muttered, “Just be quiet, Eren. Let’s get Mikasa inside and in her room.”

“Take me to my study first,” Mikasa ordered. “I don’t want to get blood on my bedsheets.” They got inside through the pouring rain and made their way quickly to the study, setting the woman in her chair. “Get Annie in here. Have her get Bertholdt.” She grimaced as another sharp throb of pain radiated from her side. To Eren, she said, “Go. Now.”

As he ran off, shouting through the hallways, Armin looked at his boss and asked, “Will you be all right?”

“Yeah,” she replied quietly. “Did you get the cleanup crew to the scene?”

“Yeah, they got all the casings and already have the bodies loaded. They’ll probably finish up in a few minutes.”

“Good.”

The hallway soon filled with the pounding of feet and Mikasa tried to sit up a little more as Bertholdt ran in, followed by Annie and Eren. The tall man promptly started to get his medical supplies set up and sterilized. “Left side only?”

Mikasa nodded and shrugged out of her shirt, sitting in her bra while Bertholdt supplied her with a local anaesthetic. Annie, meanwhile, sat on the desk and watched silently. Only when Bertholdt was knotting off the stitches did the gang leader wince. She muttered, “Thanks, Bertholdt.”

“Not a problem,” he replied, “I always have my unit at the hospital stocked with extra anesthetics. No one notices when I take one.” The man stood and said, “It’ll be a good idea if you take it easy until it heals. Move only when you need to and keep it clean and dry.” Bertholdt glanced at Annie, nodded, and then left, rolling his supplies out on a cart.

Armin and Eren both left after briefly hugging Mikasa because, though she was their boss, she was also their childhood friend and the one who kept their gang together.

Soon, it was only Mikasa and Annie sitting in the study. The blonde woman slid off the desk and came around to stand in front of the gang leader. “How the fuck did you get shot?”

“Forgot my vest,” Mikasa responded. She looked up at Annie and smirked, reaching out to catch the front of her jeans by the waistband and pull her close. “You’re not gonna stay mad at me.”

“I can damn well try.” She scowled. “I should’ve gone with you.”

The taller woman sighed softly and rested her hand on Annie’s hip. “I had you working a negotiation. I didn’t think we’d end up in a firefight. If I had, I would’ve brought you.”

They fell silent for a few moments before Annie leaned in and kissed Mikasa firmly. “You’re an idiot.”

“Am not,” Mikasa shot back. She smiled regardless and pulled her partner in for another kiss. “But I am yours.” Annie helped the woman to her feet and they walked slowly up the stairs and to the master suite. “I take it you’re going to turn me down if I ask for more than cuddling.”

“Sadly, yes.” She set the boss on the edge of the bed and helped her disrobe, getting ready to lay down. “You worry me, Ackerman.” After helping Mikasa ease back and get comfortable, she got in front of the woman and allowed herself to be the small spoon. Quietly, she said, “I love you.”

“I love you too, Annie,” the gang leader responded gently. She leaned in and kissed the smaller woman, smiling to see the content look on the blonde woman’s face.


	18. Magic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annie using some magic tricks to get a date with Mikasa.

“Hey,” Annie said as she came up to the woman standing at the bar.

The woman glanced at her and blinked, giving a faintly amused smile as she replied, “Hi.”

“I saw you punch Jean in the face. I thought it would never happen. A lot of women just splash their drinks in his face and then walk off.” Annie smiled and then turned to the bartender. “This one’s on me.” Turning back to the woman, she continued, “You like magic tricks?”

“Magic tricks,” she repeated back. The woman chuckled and answered, “Sure. At least you seem better than Jean.” She turned to face Annie and leaned against the bar. “Impress me and I’ll tell you my name.”

“If I impress you twice, can I get a date?”

“We’ll see.”

Annie pulled out two quarters and held them up. “I can make a third coin appear between the two of these just by rubbing them together,” the shorter woman announced. Dark brows raised and the woman smiled, waiting to see the trick.

Pressing the coins together, Annie began to rub them past one another faster and faster. It was when the woman’s eyes widened that Annie stopped and grinned. The woman averted her eyes and huffed a short laugh. She said, “Mikasa.”

“Annie,” the shorter woman replied. A moment passed and she inquired, “Need me to do a second trick?”

“Well,” Mikasa mumbled, “I think I’ll need a little more coaxing to accept a date.” She watched with interest as Annie produced a card and a match. “And what’s this trick?”

“I’m gonna make this match hover above the card.”

Mikasa looked incredulous but said, “That’ll be impressive, if you can pull it off.”

“When I pull it off,” Annie corrected. She set the match across the card and then cupped the card with her hand, watching as the match seemed to float above the card. Carefully watching Mikasa’s expression, she saw the awed look and asked, “So? How about a date?”

“Well, all right,” Mikasa replied with a smile. She blushed when Annie took her hand and bent to kiss her knuckles. When the blonde woman stood up again, Mikasa questioned, “So…where and when?”

“You free tomorrow?”

Mikasa grinned. “Yeah.”


	19. Break-In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mikasa has a break in and Annie is the cute officer who investigates.

Mikasa sat outside of her apartment, resting her head in her hands as she waited for the police. The dispatcher had advised her that a unit was close and would be there in mere minutes. So after she had ended the call, the woman simply waited. A minute or so later, Mikasa heard the sirens and got to her feet. Down the hallway, she saw two officers walk up. One was a tall man with black hair and the other was a short blonde woman. While the man began examining the door and taking pictures, the female officer stopped in front of Mikasa. Her eyes were slightly large, as was her slightly hooked nose. “Sergeant Annie Leonhardt.” She asked, “Did you come home and find the door like this?”

“Yeah,” Mikasa answered. She ran a hand over her face. “I’m usually home earlier but we had an emergency at my office and one of my patients was in crisis. So I didn’t get home until about ten minutes ago.”

“I think you might have gotten lucky,” the male officer called out from inside the apartment. “This looks a lot like the other burglaries that have happened recently. And those usually had victims. Dead ones.”

Mikasa blinked and felt her throat go dry. Before she could get light-headed, she felt a hand on her own and she looked at Annie. “It’s all right. We’ll find who did this.” She offered a small smile at Mikasa. “Don’t worry. Do you have a place you can stay tonight? Do you want me to drive you to a hotel?”

“Uhm…yeah, my…my brother’s place. His husband should be home.” She sighed softly and mumbled, “Thank you.”

“Not a problem, ma'am. What’s your name?”

“Mikasa Ackerman,” she replied. “May I get some clothes?” Annie nodded and while Mikasa walked into the apartment, the Sergeant followed. She gathered a couple things, growing slightly despondent over the state of her bedroom. Clothes were thrown all over, jewelry missing altogether, bed half off of the frame. She swore, “Motherfuckers…”

“Careful, doc, do you talk to your patients with that mouth?”

Mikasa glanced back over at Annie and muttered, “Excuse me?”

The other woman shrugged. “You said you had a patient in crisis. Usually that refers to a patient with mental illness needing to be transferred to an emergency ward where they can be monitored. You’re a psychiatrist.”

“Well, now I know you’ll be able to solve this. You’re very astute.” She smiled faintly. “Thank you, Sergeant.”

“You can call me Annie,” the officer replied, a small smirk on her face.

From the living room, the man shouted, “Sarge, are you seriously flirting on a case?”

“Since when do you know when I’m flirting?” Annie shot back.


	20. Breathless

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> asthma attack without the inhaler in the middle of the night and the other one has to calm them down AU maybe Mikasa has the asthma attack an Annie has to comfort her because Eren and Armin aren't there?

When Mikasa woke up, struggling for breath, she could feel herself start to panic. She sat up and tried to take deep breaths past the wheezing and the tightness in her chest. With Eren and Armin out of town, she was unsure of how to help calm herself down. Mikasa hadn’t had an asthma attack in years; the last one was when she had been ten years old. So, twelve and a half years later, Mikasa couldn’t think of how to react without her inhaler.

She remembered that Annie had stayed over that night and got to her feet, walking quickly to wake the young woman. “Annie! A-Annie!” Mikasa was still wheezing as her friend started to wake up. “Annie, p-please, I’m having an asthma a-attack.”

“Asthma attack?” Annie mumbled tiredly. Her eyes snapped open completely when Mikasa’s shortness of breath registered. “Ok, hang on. Sit right here.” She moved off the couch and had Mikasa sit upright. “What helps you calm down?”

“C-can’t remember,” Mikasa wheezed. “It’s b-been twelve years.”

Annie carefully sat next to her friend, facing her and rubbing her back. Grabbing her phone off the table with her free hand, she managed to do a quick search. “C'mon,” she said. Annie pulled Mikasa along to the bathroom and started the shower on the highest temperature, making steam.

She sat there, taking in the warm air as her companion left the room, shutting the door after herself. Within minutes, Annie returned with a mug and offered it. “Drink,” she said quietly, “it’s coffee. That medical site said that caffeine would help.” The door was again closed and they sat in relative silence as Mikasa sat cross-legged on the toilet while Annie hopped up onto the sink counter. “Helping?”

“Yeah,” Mikasa confirmed softly. She sat up straight and breathed deeply; after a few more minutes of regulating her breathing, the taller woman looked at Annie. “Thanks. I haven’t had an asthma attack in years.”

“Did you have trouble with asthma as a kid?” Annie inquired, crossing her arms over her chest.

Nodding, Mikasa explained, “My asthma would flare up because of my allergies. Plus, when I first moved into the Jaeger home, they had a mold problem that they hadn’t found out about yet.”

To lighten the mood, Annie quipped, “So you could basically be a mold detector.” She grinned, seeing the conflicted and forced frown on her friend’s face. The blonde woman pointed at her accusingly and announced, “I know that look- it’s the face you make when you know I’m being hilarious and you don’t want to admit it.”

They fell silent for a few minutes until Mikasa finally smiled, feeling Annie lightly kick her hip. “Shut up.” Her smile softened and the look she gave Annie made the shorter woman’s heart skip. “Seriously though. Thank you, Annie. I’m glad you’re here.”

“Say, if you want to really thank me and you’re not afraid of maybe making things a little awkward if it doesn’t work out, would you wanna go on a date?” She could almost swear that Mikasa would be able to hear her heart pounding from the meager distance between them. Annie had, for the most part, only ever thought of Mikasa as a good friend and sparring partner. She also had, for a while, considered Mikasa to be one of the most beautiful women she had the pleasure of meeting. After finding out for sure that Mikasa was not interested in men, Annie had started to quietly nurse a small crush on her friend.

With surprising speed, Mikasa replied, “I’d love to.” She blushed faintly and giggled, her breath becoming quick again. “This probably isn’t helping my asthma any.”

The rest of the early morning hours were spent sitting on Mikasa’s bed and talking, growing accustomed to sitting close and even realizing that perhaps they had been attracted to one another for a bit. While Mikasa learned that Annie was a literal cuddle bug, Annie was pleased to find out that Mikasa had a cute habit of playing with her fingers while they held hands. By the time the sun came up, the two had gone through an entire pot of coffee and had fallen asleep together regardless.


	21. Famous

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mikasa is a very popular singer, and she's touring the world. one night as she gets back to her hotel, Annie surprises her with a visit.

As Mikasa walked off stage, she sighed and smiled at Mina. “Oh my God. Please tell me that my next concert is the day after tomorrow.”

Mina grinned and pulled up her planner on her phone. “It is indeed the day after tomorrow. But we are going to have to hit the airport tomorrow morning for a quick flight to Paris.”

“Oh, joy,” Mikasa grumbled. “I hate airports.” She paused long enough to kick off her heeled boots. When she looked over at her manager, she grinned to see Mina looking exasperated. “What, I told you when this started that I hate airports.”

“And yet,” the shorter woman replied, “you’re one of the most popular singers of our generation and you travel for work.” She laughed when Mikasa just shrugged. “I’m so happy you’re so humble. I don’t think I could stand to work with you if you weren’t.”

Mikasa snorted. “I can’t blame you for that statement. There are some people that I can’t even stand to do duets with.” They got in the car and as Mina drove, Mikasa checked for messages. “Annie must’ve been busy today. She didn’t say much.”

“Does she still do that thing?”

“What?” Mikasa paused and grinned. “Oh, the ‘go break your neck’ instead of 'break a leg’.” She giggled. “Yeah, she still does that.”

Her manager hummed, “I almost can’t understand how you two have managed to stay together for so long.”

“She’s your best friend, Mina, how can you say that?”

“Yes but it’s because I’m her best friend that I can say that,” she retorted. They pulled in to the hotel and had the valet take the car as they walked in and headed to the elevators. “Seriously though. It’s been seven years.”

“So? Seven years. Big deal.” Mikasa rolled her eyes when she noticed the look Mina gave her. “C'mon, Mina, I’d rather have a nice relationship over rushing a big jump like marriage.”

“Just think about it.” She stepped out of the elevator and said, “See ya. Remember, airport tomorrow morning. Ten forty.”

“Yes, mom,” Mikasa teased. Her room was on the top floor. As she stepped off the elevator, still looking at her phone as she walked down the hall, she frowned to see no new messages from Annie.

“I’m surprised you haven’t walked into a wall and fell flat on your ass yet.”

Mikasa’s attention leapt from her phone to see Annie standing beside the door to her hotel room. Her eyes widened and she whispered, “Oh my God, what the hell! You said you had business meetings today!”

Annie pushed herself off of where she leaned against the wall and walked up to Mikasa. “I did. I had them over Skype.” She grinned. “Surprise.” Annie grunted quietly when her girlfriend pulled her into a tight hug and nestled her head against her shoulder.

“I knew you said you’d watch my concert in Paris but I thought you meant on TV, on a livestream!” Mikasa smiled when Annie’s arms wrapped around her waist. She pulled away and wiped at her eyes quickly. “C'mon, we can chill out. I have to be at the airport at ten forty tomorrow.”

Annie groaned, “Ugh, I hate that Mina is such a morning person.”

Mikasa took out the key card to her room and opened the door, holding Annie’s hand and pulling her into the room. “I told Mina nothing too fancy. I’m glad she kind of listened.”

“Damn, you got a fucking whirlpool tub in here,” Annie called from the bathroom. “You know, I was thinking of doing some renovations at the house. I’m thinking big walk-in shower and a really, really nice tub.”

“You mean more renovations on top of being one of the busiest contractors back home?” Mikasa asked. She had changed into her preferred sleepwear and blushed when she realized that Annie would see it was one of her shirts.

“I was wondering where that shirt went,” the other woman drawled. She walked over to Mikasa and slipped her arms around her from behind, resting her head against her back. “I missed getting to wake up to you in the mornings. Y'know that?”

The singer hummed and rested her hands over Annie’s crossed arms. “I missed it too.” She grabbed her girlfriend’s arms and moved them so she could turn around to face her. Quietly, she mumbled, “I’m glad you’re here.”

“I am too,” Annie whispered. She leaned up on tip-toe and pressed her lips to Mikasa’s, holding onto her hips.


	22. Make Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mikasa is in Annie's spot.

“I’m pretty certain that’s my spot,” Annie grumbled. She stood beside the couch, arms crossed over her chest.

From her spot sprawled over the length of the couch, Mikasa didn’t even bother to open her eyes as she replied, “I was here first.”

Annie huffed. “C'mon, get up. That’s my spot.”

Mikasa smirked and opened her eyes lazily, the dark gray bleary with sleep. “Come over here and make me.” She closed her eyes again at the shell-shocked expression on Annie’s face. “You can’t.”

Though she was tempted to grab one or both of Mikasa’s arms and pull her off of the couch, Annie shook her head and sighed. “Fine. If you won’t move, you’re gonna get stuck.” She paused, assessing how to best get comfortable, before swinging one leg over to straddle Mikasa’s hips and laying down.

“Are you serious right now?”

Annie tucked her head under the taller woman’s chin, managing to wiggle her arms under Mikasa and sprawl out on top of the other woman. “You’re damn right I’m serious. Now shut up so I can rest. I have work tonight.”

Mikasa didn’t say anything else but instead smiled and wrapped her arms around Annie’s body, securing her in case she tried to roll and fall off.


	23. Cracked

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Crystal cracked and information is offered in exchange for a life.

Mikasa stood with Eren and Armin, paring blades drawn and at the ready. Around them, the Military Police stood with jaws dropped in shock. Nile Dok’s eyebrows drew together, lips curling in a sneer. “Stand aside, you three! This is no concern of yours!”

In the center of defensive stance of the three soldiers, Annie Leonhardt weakly mumbled, “What the hell are you doing? Why are you-”

Eren spoke first, looking over his shoulder to look at her. “You were our friend. You can still help us.”

Armin glanced back at her but said nothing, instead looking at Mikasa and saying, “We can cut a deal. If we let Annie live, she can give us information about the other titans and how to fight them more effectively. It’ll also save the Police the trouble of filling out paperwork and a trial.”

Annie looked up at Mikasa’s back, seeing her broad shoulders squared proudly against Dok’s glare. When she spoke, it was just the same as those final words. “Annie Leonhardt is a necessity to the research and success of the Scouting Legion in protecting the people of these walls.” She paused. “She’s coming with us.”

Nile Dok opened his mouth, prepared to order a charge when four people entered the fray. Levi stood at Erwin’s right while Pixis stood on the left. Hanji stood in Levi’s right, grin plastered on their face. Negotiations started and ended within minutes.

–

After being interrogated, fed and assigned supervisors, Annie showered herself. She knew that Mikasa would be waiting in the sleeping quarters. Mikasa was her primary supervisor, instructed to watch over the shorter girl at all times. The blonde rested her head against the shower wall, letting the water roll down her back. Regret was eating her up inside and she bit back a sob as the faces of people she killed passed before her eyes. When the water ran cold, Annie shut it off and got out, drying herself and getting dressed quickly to stave off the nagging chill in the air. Her eyes rose to see Mikasa sitting on the bed, hands clutching Annie’s old Military Police jacket. “Mikasa?”

Mikasa shot to her feet, grey eyes meeting Annie’s blue. There were dark rings under Mikasa’s eyes and Annie felt her chest tighten at the sight. However, instead of screaming or throwing a solid punch to Annie’s face, the taller woman tossed the jacket to the bed and took the few strides to hug Annie close. “I almost lost you.”

Annie’s eyes stung with hot tears and her legs went weak as the soft scent of clean linen and flowers filled her senses. Mikasa was warm and strong and very much alive. Not at all like the nightmares that plagued Annie’s mind in her stasis. The embrace reminded her of hushed smiles at night and quick kisses in sparring matches after dinner. “You should hate me.”

“I do.” Mikasa’s voice was thick with emotion. “I hate you for what you did. But you came back. And you can make things right.” She pulled back and cupped Annie’s cheeks, staring at her intently. “Will you?”

The air was tense, filled with the silence of unasked questions. Annie closed her eyes and sighed, bringing her hands up to rest over Mikasa’s. “Yes.”


	24. Climbing High

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MIkasa and Annie have been dating for a while, and one day MIkasa discovers Annie likes to jump/climb on things when she's drunk, the higher the better.

“This is the most ridiculous drinking game ever, Annie,” Mikasa said after she had downed another shot.

Annie was already pouring herself another shot as she muttered, “Shut up, I told you that it’s easy to get drunk after just a couple episodes.” She smirked. “And you said you couldn’t enjoy Scooby-Doo.”

Mikasa opened her mouth to protest when she heard Shaggy say, “Zoinks!”

She sighed and took another shot, no longer shuddering at the sting of the alcohol. “I like Scooby-Doo, Annie, I just didn’t think it was possible to turn it into a drinking game.” Her speech was getting thick and she sighed. When she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at Annie and asked, “What’re ya doin’?”

Beside her, Annie was pulling on her boots and getting a heavier hoodie to wear. “Goin’ outside. C'mon,” the shorter woman replied. She tugged on Mikasa’s hands. “Let’s go.”

Mikasa got to her feet slowly, stumbling slightly. “I’ll just put on my Vans. I don’t think I could tie- tie?- tie my shoes.” She slipped her shoes on and followed Annie. She laughed, “What are we doing?”

“I’m gonna climb a tree,” Annie retorted. Just outside of their apartment building was a park and the slightly older woman ran to the nearest tree. Waiting for a moment for Mikasa to get closer, Annie turned and grinned. “Watch'is.” She leaped up, grabbing hold of the lowest branch and started swinging, trying to pull her legs up to catch the branch and pull herself up.

“Annie, I dunno ‘bout this. What if you fall?” Mikasa stood right below Annie, who had managed to swing herself up into the tree.

“I won’t fall,” her girlfriend assured. She climbed onto another branch, getting further up in the tree. “I’m gonna reach the top.”

Mikasa stood with her hands against the trunk of the tree, staring up at Annie. Her balance, while drunk, was less than stellar. “Annie, I don’t think tha’s a good idea.” She waited for a few seconds before asking, “Is this kinda a thing with you?”

“Yup,” came the simple reply. She got higher and Mikasa heard the leaves rustling. After a minute or two, Annie shouted down, “I like climbing.”

Mikasa heard her girlfriend giggling and she shook her head. She replied, “I can see that, Annie. Can you come down now? I don’t want anything to happen.”

Annie poked her head out from the bunches of leaves and announced, “If we go back inside, I’m just gonna climb the bookshelves.” She paused and her grin returned full force. “That sounds fun.”

“I really don’t think that alcohol and climbing should mix,” Mikasa muttered.

“Yeah and for you, alcohol and walking don’t mix.”


	25. Treed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I treed your cat, it was kind of an uncontrollable impulse. I’m pretty strong and good at jumping, though. Should I go up and get her down?

Mikasa laced up her shoes and stood from the stoop of her apartment building. It was her routine to go for a run after getting home from work and with the weather as nice as it was, she felt like taking the long route through the neighborhood. As she ran, she thought of work and how Historia had finally found herself a girlfriend. Mikasa still had yet to meet the woman in question, Ymir, but there was a lingering scent in their work place. She frowned slightly but chose not to dwell on the odd occurrence.

It was as she turned the corner that she spotted the cat. Normally, Mikasa felt perfectly in control and she could pass by cats without a second glance. But for some reason, the dark gray cat caught her eyes and the smell of the animal made her heart pound harder than the run. The cat seemed to know there was something different about the woman and took off, making Mikasa give chase. Thankfully, there weren’t many people outside. Mikasa felt a growl rise in her throat as she ran after the cat and the chase ended with the cat in a tree and Mikasa standing under it and growling.

The click of a door opening made Mikasa pause and she glanced over to see a blonde woman- probably about the same age as herself- step outside in an oversized hoodie. She suddenly felt sheepish over the incident and pointed at the cat, asking, “Is she yours?”

“Yeah, she’s mine.” The woman crossed her arms and Mikasa took a moment to really examine her features. Her blonde hair was pulled into a bun and her large eyes were a cold blue. She was shorter in stature than Mikasa but her legs were well-muscled, very much on display from under the hoodie. What really caught Mikasa’s eye was the unusual hook to her nose and how it seemingly fit perfectly with everything else about her.

Realizing that she probably needed to get the cat down, Mikasa felt her cheeks warm slightly. “Sorry about that. I, uh, it was kind of an uncontrollable impulse. I’m pretty strong though and I’m good at jumping, so I can get her down for you,” she offered.

“Well, I’m certainly not climbing up there to get her,” the owner retorted primly.

Glancing back up at the cat, Mikasa noticed that she no longer was poised to attack. “Say, does your cat usually get along with dogs?”

“Well, yeah, I’ve got a doberman and they get along perfectly.”

The taller woman bent her legs and leapt, easily reaching past the first branch and getting well up into the tree. She called down, “My name is Mikasa, by the way. I’m still sorry about chasing your cat.”

As she made her way over to the cat, Mikasa heard the woman reply, “Well, Mikasa, the cat you just chased up tree is named Sully. And I’m Annie.”

Mikasa could see the change in the cat’s posture and she prepared herself for the worst. And, as she reached out to grab the cat, Sully struck out, scratching Mikasa’s arm. The woman swore but still managed to hold the cat close and climb down without further incident. She felt a glimmer of hope when she noticed Annie’s eyes widen upon seeing the scratches on her arm. “It really isn’t that bad,” Mikasa stated quietly.

For a moment, Annie seemed to hesitate and Mikasa wondered if she was going to simply take the cat and go inside. But instead, the blonde woman sighed and motioned towards the door. “C'mon, let me at least clean it and wrap it.”

Following the blonde inside, Mikasa was suddenly hit with numerous smells and noticed that it was a very small- very old- apartment building. Annie led the way up to the second floor and held her apartment door open until Mikasa was inside. Sully promptly jumped out of her rescuer’s arms, running away to a different room. “C'mon genius.” The apartment actually smelled clean and a soft scent lingered in the air from what Mikasa figured was Annie’s perfume. In the bathroom, Mikasa stood and watched as the short female started to clean the wounds. “Sully is a beautiful cat. What is she?”

“Russian Blue,” Annie answered. “My mom loved them, so I was always around them as a kid.” She spread some triple antibiotic ointment over the scratches before applying a clean square of gauze and wrapping it. “Why did you chase her up a tree though? Are you part dog or something?”

The color drained from Mikasa’s face for a moment until she heard growling and the smell of a dog registered in her senses. She turned her head to see the doberman Annie had mentioned and she shot a glare at the animal. They stared at one another for a couple moments until the doberman lowered its head in submission and stepped forward hesitantly. Mikasa knelt and started to pet the dog, smiling when it leaned into her touch.

“Ok, yeah, you’re part dog,” Annie mused. She stated, “Jasper never bows his head like that.”

Mikasa paused and glanced at Annie, her expression guarded. “You can’t laugh if I tell you the truth.”

“I’ll probably laugh anyway just because you said that,” the blonde woman retorted with a smirk. She snorted when Mikasa rolled her eyes. “Just tell me. Why are my pets acting so weird around you?”

“I’m a werewolf,” Mikasa replied.

Silence settled in the air as they stared at each other, gazes unblinking. “You’re serious.” When the taller woman nodded, Annie huffed, “Well, now it makes sense why you chased Sully. You’re a giant dorky dog.”

“I’m not a dorky dog,” she argued, “I’m a wolf! A werewolf!”

Annie waved her off and grinned. “Ok, ‘werewolf,’ you’re all fixed up and you’ve effectively terrified my pets into submission. I’ll see you around when you decide to take yourself for a walk again.”

Mikasa struggled not to pout as she muttered, “I didn’t take myself out for a walk, I was going on my daily run…” She sighed in exasperation but stood and started towards the door while Annie walked behind her. She paused as she took hold of the door handle. “Would you wanna go out for coffee or something sometime?”

“You buying?”

“Sure.”

The short blonde pondered for a moment, her head tilting slightly in a way that reminded Mikasa of a cat. Then, Annie smirked and replied, “Why not. I like dogs.” Seeing the scowl on Mikasa’s face, she rolled her eyes and said, “Geez, lighten up. It was a joke.”

Mikasa turned away so that the blonde wouldn’t be able to see her noticing reddening cheeks. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll see you around.” She began to walk out before the quick pounding of feet came up behind her. Mikasa paused when a hand grabbed her wrist.

Annie was leaning back into her apartment for a moment before straightening up and pulling the cap of a permanent marker off with her teeth. “Number,” she managed, voice slightly muffled. Her scrawling writing soon took up most of Mikasa’s wrist and when she was done, she capped the marker again. “There. Gimme a call when you wanna go.” Then, offering a small smile, Annie turned back and shut the door to her apartment.

A sense of pride welled in Mikasa’s chest and she happily sprinted back to her own apartment, intent on texting Historia.


	26. Strangers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Help my car broke down outside your place and it’s almost the full moon and I’m not saying I’m freaking out but do you happen to have handcuffs and how do you feel about using them on strangers.

The sun was already setting and getting low in the sky by the time Mikasa got out of work. She had never been so late before and it only served to make her heart pound harder and faster. Mikasa still had a thirty minute drive to get home and she knew that she’d be cutting it close. Thankfully it was towards the end of rush hour and traffic was starting to thin. It was still much later than she would’ve liked and it left Mikasa feeling anxious.

She was still a fifteen minute drive from home when she felt her car jerk. But instead of hearing a simultaneous crunch, indicating a collision, there was just another surge in her engine before it completely died. Her eyes widened in panic and she managed to use the residual momentum to pull to the side of the road. Mikasa looked around frantically and then ran up to the door of the house she had pulled her car in front of. She knocked, heart pounding as she saw the sun get closer to disappearing below the horizon.

There were a few seconds that Mikasa feared the home owner wouldn’t answer and she’d be left to shift and run around the outskirts of the city. But there was a click and the door opened to reveal a short blonde woman with a slightly hooked nose and large blue eyes. She looked utterly disinterested but still asked, “Can I help you?”

“Look, I’m sorry for disturbing you but my car broke down outside your house and it’s almost the full moon and I’m not saying that I’m panicking or anything but do you happen to have handcuffs and something that won’t break if the handcuffs are hooked around it?” Mikasa looked at the smaller woman, thoroughly winded and frantic.

Throughout the rushed explanation, the woman’s eyes had widened in bewilderment. “What the-”

“Also, how do you feel about using those handcuffs on an absolute stranger because I promise I can explain better but only after I’m cuffed. I really don’t want to end up wandering around the city on a full moon,” the taller woman said.

“Wait right here.” The home owner started to turn but stopped and held up a finger. “I’m getting the cuffs first. You look nice enough but I don’t know you.”

Mikasa waited anxiously until the blonde woman returned with the cuffs. A small sense of relief washed over her as they clicked and became secure around her wrists. Then, she was led inside by the home owner and followed obediently towards a back room. She was re-secured to the radiator and offered a faint smile to the woman. “Sorry about this.”

“What the fuck is this all about? Seriously- you come up and knock on my door and you’re talking about the full moon and handcuffs?”

Mikasa looked at her with no joking in her tone or expression as she answered, “I’m a werewolf and I didn’t want to end up wandering around in my altered state.” Seeing the incredulous look on the blonde woman’s face, she rolled her eyes. “It’s ok if you don’t believe me right now. You’ll see.” She glanced out the window and muttered, “Can you close the blinds? I think people might freak out if they happen to be driving by and spot a giant bipedal black wolf handcuffed in your house.”

“Sure thing there, Akela.”

As the woman closed the blinds to block the view, Mikasa asked, “Again, thank you, um-”

“Annie,” the blonde female responded. Annie turned and was about to speak when she noticed that the taller woman was hunched over and starting to pant. “Whoa, are you ok?”

“The sun has completely set, hasn’t it?” Mikasa huffed tightly. Her chest felt constricted and she moved to kneel, straightening up her back. A growl left her throat as a burning sensation started to prickle on her skin. “I wasn’t joking,” she managed to snarl as her canines became noticeably elongated and sharper. Mikasa could see the confused look on Annie’s face begin to show concern. Her entire ribcage ached and popped as the rest of her bones shifted. As bad as her migraines were, they were nothing to the splitting pain in her skull as she growled in agony, stifling her screams through gritted teeth.

As the bones in her legs shifted and cracked, moving into a more canine shape, Mikasa finally let out a pained howl. Thick, black fur sprouted on her solidly muscled limbs with a burning sensation in its wake. Mikasa’s ears felt as though they were being torn off as they moved and became far more sensitive.

Annie’s eyes had widened as the transformation finally drew to a close and she muttered to herself, “You are fucking kidding me right now…” She tensed when the werewolf’s attention snapped in her direction. It suddenly made sense why the stranger had asked for handcuffs because the werewolf tried to lunge for her, only to be jerked back by the cuffs around her wrists. The werewolf whined and plopped back down, ears seeming to lower sadly. Approaching slowly, the blonde woman kept her eyes on the werewolf. Their eyes met and she saw that the werewolf’s eyes were the same grey as the woman herself. “Hey there, Fuzzbucket, easy. I’m not gonna hurt you.”

A low rumbling could be heard in the werewolf’s chest but she otherwise didn’t make a move while Annie extended a hand. Mikasa sniffed the air, catching Annie’s scent; it didn’t register as dangerous. Her nose twitched and there was an instant of absolute stillness before Mikasa raised her head and nuzzled her nose against Annie’s palm.

The short woman yanked her hand back in surprise and exclaimed, “Holy shit, your nose is cold!” She blinked a couple times as the werewolf whined, tail thumping the floor. “Your tail is literally wagging,” Annie stated accusingly. Though the statement did little to deter the werewolf, Annie admitted that the creature was beautiful; much like the tall woman’s hair, the fur was a glossy black and soft to the touch. Her hand wandered from the werewolf’s nose to her ears, gently scratching. It was amusing to see the large creature lean into the soft touches and it continued through the night that Annie would pet the werewolf and bring her water and food. Mikasa’s appetite was astounding, Annie discovered, and by the time the sky began to lighten, all of the meat in her refrigerator had been devoured.

The sky was beginning to lighten as the werewolf started to shrink. The fur began to disappear and the bones began to move again, returning to their human size and shape. Mikasa grunted as her ribs reset and finally, she panted quietly, exhausted after the long night.

“You really weren’t kidding,” Annie murmured.

Mikasa raised her head and nodded, answering, “Told you. Now, would you happen to have some clothes I could borrow? I really don’t want to lay here naked.” As Annie ran out of the room, the woman was left to look at her wrists as they were still bound. It didn’t take long for Annie to return with a small pile of clothes. She laid it on the floor and then knelt to undo the handcuffs. Mikasa said, “Thanks, Annie.”

Glancing at the other female, Annie muttered, “I never got your name.”

“Mikasa,” she answered.

“All right, Mikasa, get dressed. You can crash on my couch for a few hours and then you can call a tow truck.” She smirked while her guest clumsily got dressed. But it was only as Mikasa settled on the couch in the living room, cuddled under a blanket, that she joked, “Don’t shed on anything, ok? My dad is allergic to dogs.”

“I’m not a dog!” Mikasa protested.


	27. Cursed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> maybe Mikasa is a cursed dragon and Annie is the only one to break the spell with true love or something

The second she heard the screech pierce the air, Annie knew to find cover. She began sprinting for the shelter of a nearby thicket, heart pounding in her chest as it got closer and closer. But escape slipped away as soon as she saw the obsidian claws in her peripheral vision. They closed on her shoulder and Annie felt her body jolt as she was hauled off the ground. She let out a squeak of surprise regardless and the dread began to build in the pit of her stomach as they went higher and further away from the village. 

However, instead of being dropped and getting eaten later, the dragon carried her into the mountains. From her viewpoint, she could see the pitch-colored scales and the faint red tint of the underbelly. And below were the jagged slopes of the mountains that painted the northern horizon from her village. They began lowering as the mouth of a cave came into view and Annie felt more confusion rise. The dragon let the warrior down before landing also. But before Annie could even start to bolt, the beast growled and nudged her into the cave with its nose. Annie backed up against a wall and watched as the dragon settled on her haunches. Though she readied herself to cover her ears when the dragon opened its mouth, instead of dissonant screeching, a female voice said, “Sorry if I hurt your shoulder. Or scared you. I know that flying is a little disorienting for humans.”

Annie simply stared for a moment before she replied, “My shoulder is fine, thanks.” She watched as the dragon shifted slightly. “How can you talk?”

“We need a cave or a place where our voices can echo back,” she answered. “My name is Mikasa.” She lowered her head, allowing Annie to get a closer look at the blood red eyes and the two gem-like crests beside her eyes. “What is your name?”

The blonde woman blinked and finally took a few steps forward, hand stretching out hesitantly. “I’m Annie.” Her fingers splayed out when Mikasa pressed her nose against the warrior’s palm. 

Mikasa raised her head away from Annie and muttered, “I actually was hoping you knew something about curses.”

"Uhm, what kind of curses?” 

The dragon suddenly looked uncomfortable, shifting around on her clawed hands. “Well, ordinarily, dragons like me can shift forms and look human.” Her head lowered slightly as she continued, “But I can’t because of a curse.”

Annie rubbed the back of her neck, feeling the fur of her hood lightly tickle the skin there.  “I don’t know much about curses.” There was something vaguely heart wrenching in the way that the dragon seemed to crumble. “But I was bored in the village, so, I could probably stay. Maybe figure out a way to save your scaly ass.”

"Oh, absolutely, because it’s definitely my ass that needs saving.” She tilted her head at the human. “Thank you.”

–

Months passed with the pair flying, hunting, searching for any clues to Mikasa’s curse. It was after one full day of searching that Mikasa and the human landed in the dragon’s cave that Annie flopped over Mikasa’s nose and groaned, “This is ridiculous, Mikasa. We haven’t found anything except legends about true love and sleeping princesses.” 

Under the warrior, the dragon muttered, “Everything has to do with love. But I don’t know how anyone could possibly love a dragon.” She raised her head as Annie slipped off. “Something wrong?” 

"You’re a kind, understanding being,” Annie mumbled. She rested her hands on Mikasa’s cheek, lowering her gaze. “I really care about you, Mikasa.” 

There was a pause; the air felt thick and both the human and the dragon could feel how tense it was. Mikasa turned her head to look directly at the warrior and said softly, “I love you, Annie.”

Annie rested her forehead against Mikasa’s snout and whispered, “I love you too.” She pressed a soft kiss to the slightly softer scales between Mikasa’s nostrils. It was then that she felt Mikasa tense and she watched as the scales started to glow white and the dragon’s body began to shrink.

In complete awe, Annie witnessed Mikasa transform from a dragon with scales as black as pitch to a tall but well-built woman with pale skin. Her ears were not quite human and were long, stretching up and back to a point. But when she opened her eyes, Annie was surprised by the warm grey instead of blood red. Mikasa seemed utterly surprised and she struggled to her feet, black hair falling over her face and shoulders as she mumbled, “I’m…human.” She raised her head to smile at the warrior and whispered, “I’m human.” 

The blonde woman blushed faintly and shifted on her feet, saying, “And also naked.” It wasn’t a lie; Mikasa’s pale body had no covering and Annie pulled off the cloak she wore and wrapped it around the woman. “We need to get you some clothes.”

Mikasa attempted a smirk and asked, “You’re perfectly sure about that? You seemed to like what you saw.”

"Don’t push it,” Annie warned, “I might just leave your scaly ass behind.”

"But I’m not scaly.”


	28. Pictures (together)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sequel to the first chapter, Pictures

When the alarm went off at eight o’ clock, Mikasa groaned and rolled over to dismiss it on her phone. Though groggy, she managed to shake her girlfriend’s shoulder and mumble, “Annie, babe, c'mon. You’ve got class in thirty minutes.”

 

Annie tugged the comforter back over her head and curled up on her side from where she had been cuddling Mikasa. “No…” she grumbled.

 

“C'mon, you have class and it’s your senior year. You have to get up,” the taller woman stated. She grabbed the comforter and pulled it away, fighting back the small urge she had to give in and let her sleepy and adorable girlfriend get more rest. “You made me promise to make sure you get out and go to class on time.”

 

“It’s too early,” the blonde woman replied, glaring as best as she could manage.

 

“It might be too early but you still have class at eight-thirty.” That being said, Mikasa heaved Annie into her arms and carried her to the bathroom, smirking as her girlfriend fought weakly to get down. “Are you going to get ready or do I have to help you?”

 

“I can get ready by myself,” Annie said quietly. As soon as she was on her own two feet, she begrudgingly started her routine while Mikasa turned and went to go get dressed. It was while she was finishing her hair that Mikasa walked back in. She glanced at her, able to make her glare a little more effective as she was slightly more awake. “Happy now?”

 

“You still have to get to class,” Mikasa chuckled. When her girlfriend only groaned and started to sink to the floor, she picked her back up and said, “Ok then, I guess I’m gonna carry you.”

 

After they were about halfway to the campus, Annie nestled in Mikasa’s arms, the blonde woman muttered, “Thanks, Mika.”

 

“Don’t worry about it, sweetheart,” she answered gently. The rest of the trip was quiet and when they were outside Annie’s class, Mikasa finally set her down. It was a gentle tug on her shirt that made her pause and smile at Annie, leaning down to kiss her. “Have a good day, I’ll see you at lunch, ok?”

 

“Ok, babe,” Annie replied with a smile.


	29. Christmas Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mikaani prompt; they both sneak out of the same christmas party for some fresh air because Crowds, and end up bumping into each other
> 
> (Modern!AU, CEO!Mikasa, interior designer!Annie, pre-relationship mikaani)

The month leading up to the annual Ackerman Industries Christmas Gala had been an incredibly busy one. When Hitch was injured in an accident and left to get her broken nose worked on, Annie was left to take over. Which wasn’t an issue because the design that Hitch had flaunted as her own was actually Annie’s. Historia had volunteered to come help when she wasn’t practicing for the stage production of A Christmas Carol and eventually the Ackerman residence was looking ready for the charity event. And, having been the one to decorate the entire place, Annie had been invited as a special guest. As she walked in, the lights were all glowing cheerfully and her eyes were caught by the sight of Mikasa Ackerman dressed in a nice suit with a crimson blazer. “Annie. Glad to see you could make it,” she said. She extended a hand and gave the hand that Annie had offered a gentle squeeze.

Beside her, a woman who bore a striking resemblance to Mikasa smiled warmly. “Is this the lovely designer?” When Mikasa nodded, the woman took Annie’s hand next and gave it a small shake. “I’m Mikasa’s mother. The house is absolutely gorgeous. You do a fine job.”

Annie could feel her cheeks warm with the praise. “Thank you. It was an honor to decorate for the event. I always hear about what good things the company does.”

Mikasa’s mother smiled warmly and patted her daughter’s shoulder. “Mikasa has done an amazing job. After my husband passed, she took over and the company just flourished.”

Annie watched as Mikasa also began to blush. It was charming, in a way. The young CEO had been around during the decorating and helped when possible. There were several nights that Annie had stayed late towards the end in order to get done on time and Mikasa went out to get dinner for the both of them. Though they started out snipping at each other and exchanging flippant remarks, Annie found herself feeling a bit closer to Mikasa. And they were, after spending those nights talking and decorating together.

“Mom-” she began, smiling shyly. Before anything else could be said, another couple walked in that required greeting.

They parted, flashing small smiles at each other. And with that, Annie wandered off. It was hard to deal with the crowd- so many people in such a limited space was overwhelming. She mingled a bit but only enough to get through to the second floor where less people were. After one conversation that lasted much longer than she would have liked, Annie slipped away to a bedroom for a little respite. It was a little embarrassing when she realized that she had managed to find the master bedroom. But her eyes caught sight of a pair of French doors. Opening them led to a balcony that spanned the second floor. The weather was surprisingly mild for December. Taking a sip of her wine, she looked out over the view that Mikasa’s townhouse gave. It wasn’t very high over the city but the lights in view were breathtaking.

“Fancy meeting you here.” Mikasa came up beside her with her own glass of wine and sipped at it before muttering, “It’s crazy in there.”

“Yeah,” Annie agreed quietly. They stood in silence for a time, simply gazing out at the city lights. “Your mother is lovely,” she said, giving Mikasa a small smile. “I’m glad she liked my design.”

“Your design?”

“Did you honestly think Hitch planned all that? No. I did. I’ve worked my ass off and the only reason Hitch’s name is on the design company is because she created it and her grandfather poured the money into it.” There was an understanding in Mikasa’s expression as she nodded, a small smile on her face. “But I really am glad that your mother liked it.”

“She’s loves it.” Mikasa paused and then quietly admitted, “I love it too. You…did a beautiful job.” She felt her face begin to burn when Annie looked at her. “And it was…some of the best nights I’ve had. Helping you. Eating with you.” The CEO bit her lip, seemingly contemplating something. Then, she reached over with her free hand, placing it over Annie’s on the railing. “Would you want to have dinner again?”

“Well, I do have to take all the decorations down-”

“That’s not what I mean,” Mikasa interrupted. “I mean, I’d like to have dinner and help take the decorations down, especially if it’ll be as fun as putting them up. But. I mean, I’d want to go out and have dinner with you.” There was a moment of silence while Annie blatantly stared at her until Mikasa clarified, “I’m asking you out on a date.”

More silence followed and for an awful moment, Mikasa felt her heart sink. Then, Annie’s hand turned under her own, lacing their fingers together softly. “A date sounds nice.” They smiled at one another, almost shyly, as they both blushed. Annie joked, “If you ever want to bring your mother along, please do. I adore her already.”

“Oh, dear, I’m so glad.” Mikasa’s mother came up behind the pair, smiling warmly. She patted Annie’s shoulder softly, saying, “Mikasa told me about all the work you did and she just couldn’t stop smiling. You sound so charming.” With a grin, she looked between the pair and asked, “So when are we going out to dinner?”


	30. Looking Terrible

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Can you do 11 please? Honestly sounds like something Annie would say in a beat of concern but you can take it anyway
> 
> 11\. ‘You look terrible. I mean, you look beautiful as ever, but also super sick.’
> 
> (Canon divergent!AU, older!Mikasa, older!Annie, established mikaani)

Mikasa Ackerman had been promoted to captain. She was twenty-two-years-old and a prodigy among the remaining 104th squad. And, four years prior, she had been assigned to supervise Annie Leonhardt, who had finally been freed from the crystal.

Their relationship had been strained at first, as expected. Mikasa had yet to truly forgive the shifter for everything that had happened. Especially as it had almost caused Eren’s death. But as time passed and they were forced to work together numerous times, the old bond they used to have began to grow again. At first it was half-hearted jabs, then playfully ribbing one another, and eventually genuine laughter at bad jokes.

After a year and a half and a massive improvement in their friendship, the pair finally noticed that their feelings for one another were far from hatred and much closer to love. So, two and a half years after that, they found themselves a couple months on from Mikasa’s promotion. And it was with great concern that Annie had shoved the captain back down into bed. “Annie, what the hell? I have to report to the commander,” Mikasa protested. She sounded congested and there were massive bags under her eyes.

Annie stood at the side of their shared bed, arms crossed over her chest and looking incredulous. “You look terrible. I mean, you look beautiful as ever, but also super sick,” she said, almost laughing at the horror that had begun to cross Mikasa’s face. “So. Your pretty ass is staying in bed and getting some rest and I’m going to take care of you. You can’t do a goddamn thing if you’re sick.”

“Yes, I can,” Mikasa retorted petulantly.

Annie gave her a deadpan glare and replied, “No, you really can’t. So lay back down while I get you some tea.”

Rather than argue further, the captain settled back into their bed, rolling over to hug Annie’s pillow. It wasn’t until Annie returned and shook her shoulder that Mikasa realized she had dozed off again. Feeling and looking groggy, she peered at her lover with bleary eyes and muttered hoarsely, “Oh…thank you…” It took a moment for her to sit up and Annie actually had to assist her as she did so. As she sipped, her eyes shut and she felt her entire chest warm with the soothing heat of the tea. Mikasa finished it without putting the cup down even once and as she handed it back to Annie, she said, “That…felt really good.”

“Good. You probably have a cold, by the way. Or some kind of respiratory infection.” She paused and reached out to gently press against the space between Mikasa’s ribs. When the captain jumped, arching away from the contact, Annie nodded. “Yep, that’s what it is.” The blonde leaned over to kiss the top of Mikasa’s head and stated gently, “Lay back down and get some more rest. I’ll ask Armin to run and get you some medicine.”

“But I don’t want to sleep anymore,” Mikasa protested, “I won’t sleep tonight.”

Again Annie gave her a deadpan look and answered, “Yes, you will. With how sick you are? Yeah. You’ll sleep tonight too.”

Grumbling, Mikasa burrowed under the blankets, determined to stay awake and simply shield her sensitive eyes from the bright sunlight. Hours later, she startled awake when the blanket was yanked down and she blushed, seeing Annie with Armin and Eren, smirking at her. “What?” she muttered.

“It’s time for dinner, Sleeping Beauty,” Annie replied. “Also, Armin brought your medicine hours ago. We tried to wake you up and you just curled up tighter. So after you eat and take some of your medicine, you can get to go right back to sleep.”

“I probably won’t sleep anymore,” Mikasa grumbled. She begrudgingly took the stew Annie handed her and listened as Eren and Armin filled her in on the events of the day. But, even as she listened, she could feel her eyes start to grow heavy and her body began to feel languid. After she finished eating, she could barely get through their goodbyes as she dozed, head bobbing.

The last thing she remembered before her eyes shut was Annie kissing her forehead softly and whispering, “I love you.”

When she woke up, sunlight was just starting to filter in and she was shocked to see Annie already awake and reading. “You’re up early,” she whispered gently.

“I have a habit of sleeping lightly if I feel like something could happen,” Annie replied, her voice equally soft. She reached over, fingers gently running through sleep ruffled bangs. “You sound better.”

“I feel better,” Mikasa confirmed. She smiled slowly. “But no, I won’t say you were right.”

Annie playfully slapped her shoulder. “You are such a little shit!”


	31. Meeting your soulmate on Tumblr

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> annie-leonhardts-ass said:
> 
> Mikasa/Annie, mix of aus 1 and 9 <3
> 
> [1. soulmates au + 9. meeting online au]
> 
> (Modern!AU, soul mates Mikasa and Annie, bonus: long distance relationship)

Their first interaction was shy and awkward but friendly. Mikasa had been perplexed at first.

_**Hey, I really like your art. I hope this doesn’t come off as weird but could I ask you to draw something for me?** _

She recognized the URL; she had seen this girl pop up a lot in her notifications and also in her favorite shipping tag. The girl was a cosplayer and roleplayer. And she was good. Mikasa responded positively, immediately throwing herself into two different pieces. Shortly after, their interactions became more frequent. But one night, after exchanging Skype names, Mikasa got a message.

_**Would you wanna talk for a bit?** _

Her heart was pounding. But regardless, Mikasa agreed. As soon as the call picked up, she greeted shyly, “Uh, hey.”

“Hey,” Annie responded. “Sorry if you hear me typing- I’m working on a paper for class.”

“No worries,” Mikasa assured her, “I get it. I do the same thing for my classes. College is kicking my ass. So, uhm. Other than that, what’s up?”

“Not… much, I guess. I got your drawings today and gosh, I love them. I hung ‘em up on my door.” There was a pause before she asked, “What about you?”

Mikasa pondered answering with an extended version of the events leading up to where she was currently sitting and playing a video game. “Just relaxing. I had work _and_ class today. I’ve got a paper due in my Brain and Behavior course. But that’s not until Thursday next week. I’ve got an elective in Ancient Roman Culture and Literature tomorrow though and I’m super excited.”

“Ancient Rome? Oh, do you wanna see a cool video?” Annie questioned, her voice getting a little faster. After an affirmative from Mikasa, she heard rapid clicking and a notification popped up on her screen. “Just for a little context, this is a recreation of what they think happened the day Vesuvius erupted and buried Pompeii.”

At that, Mikasa had to pause and take the time to watch the video. As she watched, the sounds slowly turning from peaceful and ordinary to that of chaos, her chest began to ache. It was horrifying and yet she couldn’t help but feel fascinated that such an impressive recreation of that day was playing out in front of her. As soon as everything had gone quiet, the barking of the dogs suddenly silenced, Mikasa felt a tear run down her cheek. She wiped at her eyes and murmured, “Oh my God. That was… that must’ve been terrible.”

Annie softly agreed, “Yeah. I mean, if you think about it, their last thoughts were probably, 'What did we do to anger the gods? Why are they punishing us?’ And that just…” She heard a soft sigh. “Well, I can only speculate. I would’ve loved to have been on that excavation site. I really want to become an archaeologist.”

“That’s really cool! I want to be a psychiatrist. Maybe for adolescents. Help kids out, you know?” Mikasa returned to her game, smiling as they continued to talk.

~ ☆ ~

Mikasa found herself growing closer to Annie. It seemed so natural, so easy to talk to her and everything just seemed to click. She was falling fast and she knew it. Their calls began to become a daily thing and lasted longer and longer. One evening, on a call, Annie said, “That one drawing you did with the flower meanings was great. Do you know a lot about flowers?”

“Yeah, I’ve grown up around gardens since I was little and my mom taught me a lot.” Mikasa grinned, despite Annie not being able to see it. “I bet you couldn’t send me a flower I don’t know.”

“Ooh, you are in for it, Ackerman, watch this.” There was furious typing for a moment before Mikasa saw a notification pop up on her Tumblr. “Ok, what about that?”

“Can I respond publicly?”

“Yeah?”

“Ok, cool.” Mikasa typed out her response:

_**Yellow tulips! I love these~** _

Annie whispered, “You little shit.” There was more typing as the blonde muttered, “Ok, let’s do something a bit harder, that was just a warm-up.”

It went back and forth for a while with Mikasa using flowers with increasingly more affectionate meanings. And it seemed Annie was doing likewise. Finally, Mikasa brought up the courage to submit a picture of a single red rose. She held her breath when she saw a notification pop up. And her heart soared, seeing a whole picture full of red roses. Quietly, she whispered, “Annie…?”

“Yes?”

“May I tell you something?”

The pause, however brief, was enough to make Mikasa nervous. “Of course you can.”

“I…” She swallowed hard. “I…really like you.”

“I…really like you too, Mika.”

Mikasa steeled herself for whatever was about to come and she almost choked up as she stated, “I mean I’m… I’m falling in love with you.”

There was another pause and Mikasa almost wanted to crawl into a hole and die until Annie whispered back, “I’m falling in love with you, Mikasa. I… have been for a while now.”

Tears left her eyes and Mikasa felt a weight get lifted off her chest. She laughed quietly, hand pressed over her own heart to feel it pounding, and said, “I’ve wanted to say it for so long. I was worried it was just me…”

Annie laughed, equally soft, “Nope, it’s not just you.” They fell into a comfortable silence. “Do you have work tomorrow?”

“Nah, I’m off. I just worked the whole weekend,” the brunette responded.

“What about school?”

“I got an email from my professor- she cancelled her classes tomorrow because her sister is currently in labor. She wants to go see her nephew be born.” Mikasa was smiling from ear to ear. “Why?”

“Do you wanna have a sleepover? Like we just stay all a call the whole night? We don’t have to stay up the whole time. I’d…like to fall asleep with you.”

Mikasa brightened. “That’d be great.”

~ ☆ ~

Living in different parts of the country was difficult. But Mikasa had worked her ass off for every bit of vacation time she could get and after lots of planning, they were finally going to meet. Her morning had been spent at work and once she had clocked out, Eren drove his sister to the airport. He joked, “Don’t come home married, ok? Mom’d kill you if she didn’t get to be there.”

Mikasa blushed. “I’m- we’re- Annie and I aren’t even official yet!”

Eren struggled to keep his eyes on the road as he stared at Mikasa, utterly bewildered. “Wait, what?!”

“I was gonna wait until I saw her in person to ask!” Mikasa exclaimed, trying to defend herself.

“Oh my god, Mik, c'mon, you’re not _that_ old-fashioned, are you?”

His sister grumbled, “It isn’t old-fashioned…”

“It’s old-fashioned.”

She was at the gate, about to get in line, before she turned and hugged Eren. “Thanks for giving me a ride. Be safe while I’m gone and try not to get into any fights, please?”

Eren glared at her and muttered, “You literally tell Annie all the time to look forward to your visit because you two are going to spar!”

With a shrug, she replied, “That’s different.”

 _“How is that different-!”_ he began when the intercom interrupted him. The line Mikasa was in began to move and she cast a smile at her brother before throwing one arm around him in a hug. Eren begrudgingly accepted and pulled away, saying, “Be careful. And have fun. And tell Annie that if she hurts you, there’s hell to pay.”

“Aww, Eren, you’re starting to sound like me.” Mikasa laughed when her brother pretended to gag. “Bye, Eren.”

“Bye, Mik. See ya in a week.”

The plane ride was fairly short. And her layover passed quickly. So before they started to take off on her second flight, she texted Annie.

_**Hey, I’m about to take off. I’ll see you in just two hours. Would you mind getting me some coffee and a couple ibuprofen? My head is starting to hurt…** _

_**Sure thing. How do you want your coffee?** _

_**Black is fine. I just need some caffeine. Ok, we’re about to take off. I love you. See you soon~** _

She shut her phone off, considering a nap during the flight. However, despite her attempts, it didn’t work. Mikasa finally gave up and watched the city lights below until their landing was announced. Excitement started to make her jittery and Mikasa felt her leg start to bounce. As soon as she got the chance, Mikasa hurried off the plane and out of the secure terminal. After a quick text to Annie, she finally caught sight of a short blonde girl glancing at her phone. But when her eyes raised again, their gazes met and Mikasa smiled. She took Annie in her arms, holding her close. Softly, Mikasa admitted, “I’ve been dying to do this…”

The arms around her neck tightened slightly and it was like everything clicked into place right then. Mikasa felt more at home than she could remember.

~ ☆ ~

If anything, most of her vacation was spent sleeping. Work had been particularly exhausting and cuddling with Annie seemed to be the perfect remedy for her stress. One evening as they were sitting on Annie’s bed- Annie playing Overwatch and Mikasa drawing- Mikasa glanced over at the other girl. It had occurred to her before that Annie was very pretty but watching Annie look utterly focused as she played was something else entirely. Softly, she murmured, “I love you.”

Annie finished the round swiftly and paused to examine Mikasa’s expression carefully. “I love you too,” She answered, a small smile curling her lips. “What brought that on?”

“Nothing, I guess. I just. Wanted to tell you.” Mikasa leaned in a little and quietly asked, “May I kiss you?” But no sooner had the words left her mouth, then Annie’s lips were on hers. It was chaste, lips closed, but it still sent shivers down Mikasa’s spine. She felt soft hands come up to cup her cheeks and keep her close. When they parted, albeit reluctantly, Mikasa couldn’t help but giggle a bit. “I’ve been dying to kiss you since I first saw you at the airport.”

Annie scoffed and laughed, shoving the taller girl’s shoulder playfully. “Shut up, you nerd.” She leaned in for another quick kiss before turning back to her laptop. “Let me finish one more quick play before you decide to kiss me beyond all reasonable thought, ok?”

“Will you be my girlfriend?” she asked quickly. Mikasa hadn’t been sure when to bring it up but she knew she wanted to ask. There was a brief moment of uncertainty for her; what if Annie wasn’t ready to commit right then?

But before she could dwell on it further, she was pulled into another kiss and a soft, “yes,” was whispered against her lips. In just a couple days, Mikasa would have to fly home. But right then, all that mattered was her and Annie and nothing else.

~ ☆ ~

Going back was hard. But a few months passed and after a lot of thought, one night came that Mikasa questioned, “Ok, so you know that one AU we talked about where Sakura is a werewolf and Ino is a kind of medium? It’s great and I love it but. What about if they were soulmates? And Ino kind of knows because of her sixth sense but she doesn’t bring it up until Sakura says something.”

“Ok, yes, accepted. And Ino’s sixth sense, like, allows her to see their past lives searching for each other over and over,” Annie supplied.

“Perfect,” Mikasa sighed. She paused and murmured, “Kind of like… their love for each other is just so second nature. And everything just… clicks.”

Annie agreed, “Exactly. Oh God, this is gonna be a good AU.”

“Yeah… say, uhm… do you believe in soulmates?” It was a strange question but given their previous topic, it seemed to flow. She stated, “I mean, I think you can have platonic soulmates but also romantic ones. But you can’t just be soulmates and not work for it- for each other.”

“Yeah, I think that too. It… really has to just click. And I… really felt that with you,” the blonde admitted in a hushed voice. She snorted and laughed, “I can’t believe this is actually happening, even after we kept going back and forth about kicking each other’s asses.”

“Ok, listen, in my defense-”

“Oh, this is gonna be good.”

“That was flirting and you know it,” Mikasa stated. She added, “I think it was pretty obvious that I was flirting with you. It just so happens that I won when we fought.”

Annie muttered, “You did _not_ win. I did. Because I got free.”

“Because I was nice and let you go,” Mikasa retorted.

“I still got free and that means I won,” Annie replied soundly.

Mikasa grumbled, “Ok, in that case, next time we see each other, I want a rematch and this time, I won’t be so nice.”

The silence between them seemed serious until they burst into laughter. “I swear to God, Mika, you’re the biggest dork I’ve ever met.”

“Yeah, well, you’re dating this big dork and you’re stuck with me.” Mikasa smiled and mumbled, “You know, even though we’re both really competitive… I really appreciate how similar we are. And I’m glad you’re open to talking as much as we do.”

Annie grew quiet and softly admitted, “Me too. It’s kind of hard because I’m used to hiding my feelings about stuff and I still struggle sometimes to put things into words. But I’m really happy that you seem to be intuitive enough to understand me.”

“I’m… just very aware of my own emotions,” she said. “And I think that’s helped me learn how to read people and understand their emotions too.” Mikasa rubbed her neck and mumbled, “Wow, that got serious pretty fast.”

The other girl chuckled, “Yeah, it did. Hey, do you have work or classes tomorrow?”

“Nope, it’s my weekend off and I don’t have any weekend classes. Sleepover?”

“Definitely.”

~ ☆ ~


	32. Cranky Vampire Girlfriend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> annie-leonhardts-ass said:
> 
> Mikaani, 9
> 
> [9. “Quit it or I’ll bite.”]
> 
> (Vampire!AU, vampire!Mikasa, human!Annie, established mikaani)

Mikasa was curled up with her head on Annie’s lap. It had been a long night and Mikasa desperately needed sleep. Work had been rough, with three aides calling in. So Mikasa was left with one aide and the on-duty doctor in the emergency room. She frowned when she felt a finger poke her cheek. “What?”

“You never told me why you were so pissed off when I came to pick you up at work,” Annie replied.

“It was a shit day…”

“Baby, you work nights,” the blonde reminded her playfully. She smirked when all she got was a deadpan glare. “Ok but seriously, what happened?” Annie ran her fingers through the soft black hair and murmured, “You’re being cranky.”

“I’m not cranky,” Mikasa huffed. She shot another glare at her girlfriend when the blonde giggled. Despite that, she continued, “I was the only RN and we only had one aide that showed up. The other three called in. So there were only three of us working the emergency room on midnight shift.” The vampire curled up a little tighter and shut her eyes again, only to scowl when she felt a finger press against her cheek again. Mikasa growled, “Quit it or I’ll bite.”

Annie hummed, “Oh, so scary.”

She pouted and replied, “I am scary.”

The human leaned down and kissed her girlfriend, smiling when Mikasa tilted her head to accommodate the kiss. “Ok, Miss Scary Immortal Vampire, are you still cranky?”

There was silence for a moment before Mikasa turned her head and muffled her answer against Annie’s stomach, “Nomf.” She mumbled, “Sleepy.”

“Ok, sleepy vampire, get some rest. I’ll make you coffee later.”

Mikasa turned her head slightly and asked softly, “You promise?”

Annie smiled softly. “Promise.”

“Ok. I love you,” Mikasa said gently.

“I love you too, darling,” the blonde answered.


	33. Dungeons and Dragons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> etheirse said: How about Mikasa,Annie,Ymir,and Christa playin a game of DnD that gets gayer every encounter?

Mikasa glanced at her girlfriend, trying to fight a smile at the exasperated look on her face. “Babe, you look so done.”

“I _am_ so done.” Annie threw her hands up in the air. “How do we progressively make this campaign gayer every damn time?”

Ymir smirked. “Well, Annie, you’re the DM. You control this shit show.”

The woman’s eyes narrowed and she muttered, “You know what, this is the best fucking shit show you’ll ever be part of.” Annie added, “Besides, the reason it’s so gay is because you two-” She gestured to Ymir and Christa, “fuck like rabbits!”

“Ok but Mikasa’s ranger is _married_ to your paladin,” Christa pointed out, pointing to Mikasa who wore a smug grin. “How is it any different for me and Ymir?”

“You and Ymir are constantly going off and having sex whenever you can?” Mikasa replied.

Christa had the decency to blush a little while Ymir laughed. Reaching over to slap the freckled woman’s shoulder, the smaller blonde stated, “All right, you _might_ have a point.” She sighed and ran her hands down her face as Ymir continued to snicker. “I mean, it isn’t _abnormal_ for our characters to go off and fuck- our lives are at risk. My mage and Ymir’s thief are engaged at least.”

“That was a recent development,” the DM muttered. She rolled her eyes again and stated, “Ok. So as your group heads through the town center, you hear a guard telling a shopkeep about a cult that continues to ambush travelers and steal their belongings, including a vast amount of gold. The guard sees the four of you and notices the mage and the paladin. He asks if any of you are interested in making some money.”

The freckled woman piped up, “Hell yeah we are.”

“He tells you what he told the shopkeep. ‘You can stay at the local inn for tonight and take the time to get what you need.’ He gives you the money to get rooms at the inn as well as food and supplies. So, what do you do?”

Mikasa calmly said, “We should go to the inn and get our rooms. Then go to a shop and get what we’ll need. Like potions.”

“Yeah, let’s get our rooms,” Ymir agreed. She nudged Christa and smirked. “But, since we’re going on a life-threatening mission…”

Christa blanched. “Ymir, _no_ , we just had a conversation about this-”

Annie interrupted, “All right, sure.” The players looked at her in surprise until they saw a smug smirk curl her lips. Mikasa smiled knowingly, taking a sip of her drink. “I figured you’d suggest that. Which is why the guard was generous enough to pay for your rooms.” Annie grabbed her percentage dice. “Ymir, Christa, I need both of you to roll a fort save.”

“Fort save?” They parroted. When the DM nodded, the couple eyed one another before rolling. After applying their modifiers, Christa announced, “I got a seven…and Ymir got a thirteen.”

She rolled her dice and grinned. “Christa, thanks to your magic- or lack of control therein during your escapades with Ymir- you…are pregnant.”

“ _What_?” Ymir gasped. Beside her, Christa’s jaw dropped. “ _Pregnant_? **_How_**?”

In response, the DM retorted, “You know what: _my game, my rules_. You two wanna be together so bad, I’ll give you a little gift. Hopefully, the baby will be enough to bring you closer.” She looked at Mikasa. “What gender?”

“Girl,” Mikasa replied easily, “you don’t want to be a complete dick to them.”

“Fair enough,” Annie agreed. She smiled. “You’re pregnant. Not that you’ll realize it for another couple weeks but you are. Just. So you know.”

At first, Christa looked torn between shocked and close to tears. Then, a smile suddenly curled her lips and she reached over to shake Ymir’s arm. “Ymir, our characters can get married! We could get a house and have a family!”

Annie sat, smirking at Ymir. “Yeah, Ymir, you could get a house and have your family with Christa’s mage.” Mikasa took another sip of her beer, enjoying the scene playing out in front of her. In the meantime, Annie turned to her girlfriend and asked, “Does your ranger wanna settle down at the end of the campaign?”

“Yeah, sure, we can have a couple girls, settle down on a little farm or something,” Mikasa answered cheerfully.

Ymir took a swig of her own beer and pointed at Annie as she set it down. “You know what, awesome. I want a family with Christa, so seeing it happen in our game is fantastic.” She turned to Christa and stated, “Dagny asks for Guinevere’s hand in marriage. And she asks Astrid to perform the marriage.”

“Oh, what, you assume that since I’m a paladin, I can perform a marriage?” Annie questioned.

The freckled woman replied in a deadpan, “You literally performed a ceremony two sessions ago for two elvish women who we saved from an orc invasion.”

With a shrug, the blonde answered, “True. Ok, fine, Astrid will perform the marriage rites. And Yumi will be in attendance.“ She glanced at Mikasa. "Anything Yumi wants to say?”

After a brief pause, Mikasa nodded. She asked, “Yeah, when are we gonna have kids?”

Annie groaned and dropped her head onto the table. “Why me?”


	34. Stormy Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> last-to-fallaway said: I was wondering if you could write a story about Annie or Mikasa having a nightmare and they end up cuddling or something

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Canon universe, pre-relationship mikaani)

Training had been hard that day. It was humid, clouds were building on the horizon and there was a palpable feeling of dread in the air. Typically, Mikasa felt as though she was able to control her emotions fairly well. Yet, with the threat of a storm looming, her anxiety was on the rise. As they returned to the barracks for the night, Mikasa made sure to change as fast as possible. It wasn’t that she was in a rush to sleep, but even after years, Mikasa still felt uncomfortable with how her body looked. Too muscular, too sculpted, too unattractive in her eyes.

As she climbed under the meager blanket, she felt eyes on her and she glanced around and barely caught Annie looking at her. It was just a glance- just the brief meeting of eyes- and they instantly looked away. Mikasa settled in and it wasn’t much longer after that when the lights went out. Everyone was in their individual racks, likely knocked out from exhaustion. And usually, Mikasa would be one of them. But as she heard thunder rumble low in the distance, the current top trainee buried her face in the pillow to silence a whimper. It would be a long, hard night.

Sleep finally came to her but it was far from what she wanted. Images from the past- blood, screams, the terrified eyes of her mother- they haunted her and in her sleep, Mikasa grimaced. She tossed and turned, almost as if trying to wake herself up. It wasn’t until something cold touched her arm that she finally managed to wake. The girl shot up, gasping for breath. She finally recognized it as a cold hand that went from her arm to resting on the nape of her neck. Mikasa’s eyes widened when she finally saw that it was Annie who had woken her. “Annie?”

“Oh, good, you recognize me,” the blonde replied, her voice soft and not so much sarcastic as _playful_. She looked at Mikasa, brows furrowing as she asked quietly, “Are you ok? It sounded like you were having a bad nightmare.”

“I…” She was tempted to deny it at first but when she really felt that Annie wasn’t patronizing her, Mikasa slumped forward, resting her forehead on Annie’s shoulder. “It…was bad.” Her voice shook as she simply whispered, “My parents…” It was all she had to say. The conversion she and Annie had had just a couple weeks prior in the kitchen was enough to make it click, apparently, because the blonde instantly wrapped one arm around Mikasa.

She murmured, “Is…there anything I can do?”

Thinking for a moment, Mikasa pleaded, “Can I sleep with you?”

There was a brief pause where Annie tensed and the brunette worried that she had pressed too far on their tenuous relationship. Or what little relationship they had. Then, softly, Annie replied, “Ok. C'mon.”

They moved; Mikasa brought along her own blanket and as they crawled into Annie’s bunk, she pulled the blanket up over Annie’s own and doubled the warmth over them. As she cuddled up to the blonde, nestling her head under Annie’s chin, she whispered, “Thank you.”

Annie smiled to herself, an arm gently slipping over Mikasa’s shoulders. “Don’t mention it.” They drifted off slowly, enjoying the warmth and weight of a familiar person. Every once in a while during the night, Mikasa would wake and shift, causing Annie to rouse briefly. They would look at one another, smile, and settle back down.

Just before dawn, Mikasa woke again and shifted just enough to wake Annie as well. As soon as blue eyes fell on her, she asked softly, “Do you want me to go back to my bunk?”

“Why?” Annie replied sleepily.

The question brought Mikasa up short as she tried to remember her reasoning. It wasn’t odd for trainees to share a bunk. A lot of them were orphans, many had become close friends or even couples. But Mikasa and Annie were neither friends nor a couple. Mikasa felt heat rise to her cheeks as she floundered for an answer. “I…I suppose…because you might not…want me here anymore? It isn’t storming…and I haven’t had a nightmare since I…” _‘Since I slept in your arms,’_ she silently finished.

Annie blinked slowly, staring at her. Then, shutting her eyes, she retorted simply, “You’re fine here.”

Mikasa lay there, with Annie’s arm still thrown over her shoulders, staring at the girl. She couldn’t argue further, as she realized that the blonde had fallen asleep again. But, then, Mikasa simply smiled and settled back down.


	35. Ticklish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mikaannie Week, Day 7: free day
> 
> Mikasa dreads work and Annie helps her unwind by letting her find some special spots.

Mikasa flopped onto the bed she shared with her girlfriend and groaned, “I don’t want to go to work tomorrow.”

“Why don’t you just leave that place, Mikasa? You don’t get paid enough to put up with the shit you do,” Annie muttered, voice slightly muffled by the pillow she was laying on. She turned her head to look at the brunette as she added, “Besides, you’re always exhausted. You look like you’re going to burn out.”

“The thing is…” The taller girl shifted to face Annie and mumbled, “it’s a steady job. And I need the money.” She smiled weakly when Annie rolled over and cuddled up against her. “If it really gets to be too much, I’ll quit. Or if I find something better.”

Annie rolled her eyes. “Pretty much anything is better than where you work. Even McDonald’s pays more than that shithole you work in.”

“Yeah but-”

“Trust me, I don’t want you to work at McDonald’s. There’s nothing wrong with working there but…you…don’t have the personality to work there. You might kill some snooty PTA mom who thinks she can get a free meal by complaining,” the blonde joked.

There was a brief pause as Mikasa considered the situation. “I might murder her verbally,” she defended. She grinned when Annie laughed and threw an arm over her waist. “You’ve got a point though. I wouldn’t enjoy it at all.” Mikasa pressed a soft kiss to her girlfriend’s forehead and smiled when Annie grumbled playfully. She sighed as they settled down for a few moments. Her fingers began to gently scratch along her back and the couple pressed closer together as Mikasa continued to scratch Annie’s back. When the scratching eventually became gentle passes of her fingertips over Annie’s lower back, Mikasa felt her girlfriend shift. Then, her fingers slowly dipped just under the shirt Annie wore.

Annie went stiff as she bit her lip. “Pbbbfft.”

Mikasa pulled back and looked at her girlfriend curiously. Her lips twitched lightly as she dragged a nail lightly over the same spot on Annie’s lower back, watching the blonde woman’s eyes widen and suddenly snap shut as her teeth bit down on her lip. “Annie, are you- are you ticklish?”

“C-cut it out, Mikasa,” Annie tried to warn, her voice cracking as another snort left her. When Mikasa’s finger dragged over her hip, Annie squirmed, choking back a giggle as she squealed, “Nooooo…!”

It continued for several minutes as Mikasa systematically discovered each of Annie’s tickle spots. The blonde squirmed and wiggled and snorted, trying to hold back laughter as she weakly tried to grab Mikasa’s hands to stop her. After several more minutes, Mikasa paused and kissed her deeply. When she pulled away, her girlfriend was breathless. Annie panted, “I hate you so much.”

“No you don’t.”

“No, I don’t, but I’m trying to make you feel bad.” Annie grinned when Mikasa leaned in for another kiss. “Well?”

“Well what?”

“You should get me a cherry limeade. As an apology.”

One dark brow rose as Mikasa asked, “You want a limeade?”

“You’re damn right I want a limeade,” Annie retorted.

Mikasa laughed softly and kissed her once more before murmuring, “Ok. I’ll go get you a limeade.”

Annie grinned again. “Love you, babe.”

As Mikasa got up, slowly fixing her own rumpled clothing, she rolled her eyes and answered, “Yeah, I love you too.”


	36. Friends in Other Worlds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Drabble(s) of Mikasa and Annie meeting other favorite characters of yours?
> 
> Kingdom Hearts!AU

****

The world they landed in was strange. Well, perhaps strange isn’t quite the right word. But it’s dark as they walk across the bridge. Behind her, Eren muttered, “The statues on this bridge are fucking creepy.”

“They look like weird beasts…” Armin murmured in response.

They kept walking until they finally opened the door. Mikasa called out quietly, “Hello?” Silence reigned for a moment until the whole grand entry echoed with a great roar. Mikasa’s eyes widened and she turned to Eren and Armin excitedly. “That sounds like the Beast!” The boys nodded excitedly before the trio spotted a shadow scurry up the stairs. “C'mon!”

As they followed, they came upon more Heartless. Finally, they came to a room at the end of the hallway. Inside, they heard two women talking. Mikasa motioned to the door but before she could stop him, Eren reared back and attempted to ram the door open. It flew open without force and the boy tumbled to the floor. “Hey! What’s the big idea?”

Mikasa grinned. “Hi, Belle!”

“Mikasa! Eren, Armin! It’s so wonderful to see you!” The young woman hurried forward to give Eren a hug. She let go after the boy wiggled, trying to get free. “Have you come to help the Beast?”

The trio looked at one another and Mikasa replied, “Uhm. We can. What’s going on?” She watched Belle sigh and sit on the edge of the bed. This was going to be a long story.

–

Annie looked around curiously. But then an image popped up and she smiled faintly, recognizing it. The path appeared in front of her and the familiarity of the moonlit path comforted her. She approached Starry Hill at a leisurely pace and when she got close to the top, Annie almost laughed to see a round little body and stubby arms trying to pull a honeypot off of its head. “Well, I wonder who’s stuck in that honeypot,” she teased.

“Annie? Is that you? Help! I’m stuck!”

She knew it was Pooh bear and Annie picked him up. “Ok, I’m gonna swing you around and then stop real fast to make the honeypot come off.”

“Ok!”

As soon as she felt she had enough force built up, Annie halted and grinned when the pot came flying off. In her arms, Pooh smiled and sighed in relief. “Thank you, Annie. I was very stuck. But I hope I had eaten all the honey.”

The blonde girl put him down and sat on the log that overlooked the forest and the night sky. “You probably did. That tummy of yours certainly gets in you into some sticky situations.” She playfully poked his stomach and smiled when he laughed.

They sat in silence for a moment before Pooh announced, “I’ve been pondering. And thinking. About if there’s anything I can do to keep you from going away. So that when I want to see you, I can always find you.”

“But I’ll always be with you,” She answered. Annie reached over and said, “When you want to see me, just close your eyes. And I’ll be right _there_.” She pressed a finger to his chest.

–

Her eyes widened when she finally saw Annie again. “Annie!” The battle with Nierxer had been exhausting and she rushed to see her friend. They came to a stop in front of one another and Mikasa felt tears sting her eyes. “I’ve been searching for you. I’ve been everywhere.”

“I…I was searching for you too,” Annie murmured. She flung her arms around Mikasa’s waist and hugged her, ignoring the snickers from Eren and Armin.

“Oh, great! You guys finally found each other!” Mikasa raised her head to see King Mickey walking over. With her arms wrapped around Annie’s shoulders, Mikasa blushed a little. “C'mon, we’ve gotta get going. So we can stop Xekze.”

The pair unwrapped their arms from one another and nodded resolutely. Annie stated, “Your Majesty…”

With a smile, he quickly laughed, “Aw, no need to be so formal, Annie. We were in the Realm of Darkness together for awhile. We’re pals!” It made Annie smile. “Well, Mikasa, lead the way.”

She nodded and with a quick grin at Annie, Mikasa summoned her keyblade and ran towards the doorway on the other side of the room. Eren, Armin, Annie and Mickey followed, knowing the battle with Xekze was going to be settled that day.

–

It wasn’t until they limped their way through the Realm of Darkness together that Mikasa whispered, “Sorry that our first time seeing one another in so long went like this.”

Annie shrugged, moving Mikasa’s arm slightly as it was flung over her shoulder. “Hey, don’t tell me you’re gonna worry about that now. We just beat Xekze. We can…go home.” She flashed a weak smile at Mikasa. Abstract dark forms floated by them as they kept going.

“Radiant Garden was your homeworld. Right?”

There was a brief pause. “Yeah. Back when my parents were still around. I kinda miss it.”

“I’ve got friends there. I want you to meet them,” Mikasa announced. Finally, a bright light shined in front of them and the pair looked at one another. “Ready?”

“When you are,” the blonde replied firmly.

As they stepped through, it was like feeling liquid heat disperse through every nerve in her body. Sound came back first, followed by blurry vision. But then, a hand clapped her on the back and Mikasa looked up to see Leon. “Leon!”

“Hey.” Behind him, the whole crew from Radiant Garden stood and smiled. “What took ya so long?”

“We were worried you guys got lost!” Yuffie joked. Beside her, Eren and Armin laughed.

Cloud huffed but shot a faint smile at Mikasa. “Looks like you found your light.”

Mikasa could only smile and nod. It was good to be with friends.


	37. The Count's Daughter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr prompt: For the drabble thing how about Mikani Medieval and perhaps Bandits on top of that?

Bandits had become a serious problem as soon as taxes had risen. Mikasa had little she could do about the matter- she was only the adopted daughter of a duke and didn’t even have ownership of her own dowry. The woman sighed heavily and gazed out the window of the carriage. It was dreary out and after a failed marriage negotiation, she was on her way home. ‘ _Thankfully failed_ ,’ she thought. It took a moment for her to look up when her mother patted her knee. “My apologies, my mind was elsewhere. Did you say something?”

“You look forlorn, dear.” Carla, her adoptive mother, was an exceedingly kind woman. Spirited, strict in some ways, but exceedingly kind. “You aren’t disappointed by the negotiations falling through, are you?”

Mikasa shook her head and replied, “No.” A little quieter, she added, “ _Lord no_.” She sighed again and explained, “He was insufferable. Quite stupid too.”

Carla’s brows rose. “Truly? No great loss then. His father was obliging at first but apparently your dowry wasn’t impressive enough for a _baron_.” She rolled her eyes. “Simpleton.” 

She opened her mouth to reply when the carriage shook and the driver shouted in alarm. Suddenly the sound of pounding hooves came into earshot and Mikasa saw the blur of a rider on a horse pass by the window. Her chest began to get tight with anxiety when she realized what must be happening. There was shouting and she made out one voice saying, “Stop the carriage and grab a hostage!” 

The carriage lurched as it stopped and Mikasa caught her mother as the woman tumbled forward. She immediately braced herself when the door flung open. A tall man with blonde hair and huge muscles, reached out for them until Mikasa kicked his hand away. He yelped in pain, hissing, “You _bitch_!” The man stepped up into the carriage and yanked Mikasa by her arm, tossing her towards the door. One of the other bandits caught her, restraining her arms in his hands. 

Mikasa scowled but realized his grip wasn’t secure. His palms were sweaty and he was shaking faintly. But her anger spiked the second she saw Carla shoved out of the carriage. She stomped on the man’s foot and bolted forward, breaking his hold easily. Mikasa reached her quickly and pulled her up, doing her best to guard her. 

“Look at that, she thinks she stands a chance!” The man who had grabbed her initially stepped out of the carriage, pulling a dagger out of the sheath strapped to his boot. 

“Stand down, Reiner!” ordered a female voice. A short blonde woman, still on her horse came around from the front of the carriage where she had probably been dealing with their driver. Mikasa was still scowling as the woman dismounted. 

“Stay away from my mother,” Mikasa snarled. 

The woman tilted her head, almost curious, as she asked, “Do you think you’re in a position to be making demands?”

“You don’t seem to understand what I just said- stay. Away. From. My. Mother,” the count’s daughter retorted. 

Carla whispered, “Mikasa, don’t be foolish.”

Mikasa kept a steady glare on the blonde woman who stood in front of them. “I don’t care if you take my dowry, being married doesn’t _fucking_ interest me. Just leave my mother alone.” 

“What’s your name?” the blonde woman asked. 

She blinked, seemingly shocked. “What?”

“Your name. What is it?”

The young woman replied, “Mikasa.”

“Annie,” the bandit said in turn. After a moment, her lips twitched into a smirk but let it fall before turning to the rest of the bandits. “All right, saddle up and let them go.”

Reiner’s eyes widened. He shouted, “She kicked me!”

The man who had restrained Mikasa added, “And she stomped on my foot.”

Annie snapped, “Truly? And yet for all your strut, she still managed to do it. You’re both less than the strays who walk the streets. Now, do as I said.”

While the bandits grumbled and went to fetch their own horses, Annie turned back to Mikasa and Carla and muttered, “My apologies for their rough treatment of you. I had expected there to be a man traveling with you at least.”

“Why are you letting us go?” Mikasa questioned, straightening up and realizing that she towered over the blonde. 

Annie’s cheeks flushed slightly but she responded, “You exhibited more bravery than I’ve seen in my own men. You were willing to defend your mother and for that, I believe you deserve safe passage to wherever you’re going.” Her smirk returned and she added, “It certainly helps matters that you’re quite beautiful.” With that, she bowed her head briefly and turned, beginning to walk away. “May you travel with grace.”

Mikasa felt her own cheeks redden as she watched the blonde walk towards her horse and took a few long strides to catch up with Annie. “Hold a moment.” She fished for the coin purse she had sewn a pocket for and pressed it into Annie’s hand. “Count Grisha will surely thank you for your chivalry.” Then, smiling, she stepped back and watched as Annie took a moment to look into the purse. “And don’t worry. That should be enough for you to have a few meals and room at the very least.” 

“Many thanks, m’lady,” Annie replied, tone sarcastic but with a charming grin to belie her feelings on the matter.


	38. Athena

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> bluebird-whatevers asked: mikannie model au (annie being an art student and mikasa a model for her class)

Annie didn’t mind figure drawing. She didn’t care when they had the male model and they had even had a female model once before. So when Petra announced they were going to have another female model, Annie felt confident. It was the same as always. At least, she had thought so until she entered the classroom.

A young woman, probably no older than Annie, stood in a robe next to Petra; they were talking and even though it was definitely professional, Annie couldn’t help but notice the way the woman laughed and smiled.

It was while she was getting set up that she stole glances to get a good look at the model. She was most certainly taller than most women she encountered but being taller than Annie herself was no great feat. Her eyes were grey and her black hair barely brushed the tops of her shoulders. Annie felt her heart beat a little faster as she acknowledged the woman was most definitely attractive. The others were beginning to file in and get their own stuff set up, so Annie knew they’d be starting soon.

However, when Petra began to assist the woman in getting posed, was when Annie’s eyes widened marginally. The robe fell and lay almost like a puddle under what Annie now saw to be an incredibly well-muscled woman. It was like laying eyes on Athena; the grey-eyed goddess of war and wisdom herself. She began to sketch, looking up frequently to double check. But then their eyes locked and Annie nearly froze. It was only an instant but it felt like eternity, staring at the other woman. 

She finally managed to tear her eyes away and return to her drawing. After a while, they took a break and as the woman pulled the robe on, Annie headed for the door to step out to gather herself. On the other side of the hallway was a door to the courtyard and the blonde stepped out into the frigid January air. The coolness was almost sharp as she breathed in, making Annie shudder. It was unlike her to feel so affected by the simple stare of a model for class. After five minutes of standing in the freezing cold, Annie returned to the classroom and felt eyes on her as she went to her spot. Sure enough, when she looked up, Annie caught the gaze of the model on her. The woman was sitting, phone in hand, watching Annie’s movements with a faint smile on her face. 

Annie quickly looked away, feeling her cheeks burn slightly as everyone got back to their seats to start again. She watched, again, as Petra got the woman posed. They went back to drawing and went through a couple more breaks before Petra announced they were done for the day. Annie was packing up when she saw a figure approaching and she looked up, feeling slightly surprised when it was the model. “Uh…hi?”

“Hi,” the woman said, “could I talk to you for a few minutes after I get dressed?”

“I guess…did you want to see the sketches I did for your poses?” the student asked curiously.

“Please.” The woman smiled when Annie nodded and began to walk away and added, “I’ll talk to you in the hallway.”

Why the model would want to see her sketches, Annie couldn’t fathom. Yet, she found herself standing in the hallway, waiting for the woman to walk out. When she heard the click of heels, Annie looked up and saw the woman coming towards her with a smile on her face. As the blonde held out her sketchbook, she stated, “I could make a copy, if you’d like. I know some models like to have copies.”

“That would be great,” the model answered as she looked at Annie’s work. There was a couple moments of silence as her eyes studied the page. “You’re very good,” she announced.

Annie felt her cheeks redden. “Thanks…”

“I’m Mikasa, by the way.”

“Annie.”

“Well then, Annie,” Mikasa said as she handed the sketchbook back, “would you like to go out for coffee sometime?”

This brought the blonde woman up short. She blinked. “We’re not allowed to ask out the models.”

“You’re not asking me out, I’m asking you out,” the woman replied smugly. She handed Annie a card and said, “Text me if you want.” With that, she turned and started to leave.

“H-hey, wait.”

Mikasa paused and glanced back over her shoulder at the art student. “Yeah?”

“…are you free Saturday?”

“I am,” she answered, smile widening, “would you want to meet up?”

“As long as you’re asking,” Annie retorted.

“I’ll pick you up around one. We can get coffee and have a late lunch,” Mikasa said. Then, she walked out and left Annie standing in the hallway with a slightly dazed but happy expression.


	39. Say No to Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Little drabble inspired imaginetheotp. More specifically: 
> 
> Person A has given up on love. Nope. Love is not for them. Forget that…. And then they meet person B and think; “Annnd this is the asshole who will ruin everything.”

Annie had sworn, after the end of her last relationship, that she was done with love. It was stupid and all that came of it was leaving yourself vulnerable to injury. She was twenty-nine years old and a successful business manager at an advertising company. Annie Leonhardt didn't  _need_ love. And she most certainly didn't  _want_ love. Although, being in business, it was rather standard that the regional supervisors would want to throw a company Christmas party. 

“Goddammit, Rex, I love you but you can’t be under my feet at all times!” Annie stepped over her four-year-old German Shepard-Husky mix and sighed heavily as he got to his feet with a happy bark. “You dork, I have to start getting ready. I’ll be gone for a few hours tonight.”

It would seem a little sad to some people that Annie had taken to conversing with her dog but she honestly saw no problem. He was her companion and almost the only being on earth who didn’t make her absolutely frustrated twenty-four-seven. 

The blonde woman quickly showered and dried her hair, pulling it up into a more elegant version of her normal style. She had originally intended on simply “forgetting” about the party. However her own supervisor- a certain Hanji Zoe- had cornered her and insisted that she show up. Hanji was nice enough, in Annie’s opinion, but a little on the eccentric side. Finally pleased with her hair, the short woman strode back out to her bedroom and searched her closet for something decent to wear. It wasn’t necessarily formal but with the way Hanji had spoken, they apparently wanted her to meet an upcoming ad artist. So, Annie settled on a black dress with cream-colored lace over the shoulders and arms. Just as she got her heels on, her phone rang, making the blue-eyed manager groan. Answering it, she snapped, “What is it?”

“Annie! That’s no way to speak to your supervisor,” Hanji chided with a laugh. 

Annie sighed. It  _would be_ Hanji that called. They had a rather uncanny habit of calling at the perfect moment. “Hello, Hanji. What is it?”

“There you go, much better. So! Are you ready for the party? Petra and I can come pick you up!" 

As she walked out to the living room of her apartment, Annie grabbed her purse from the coffee table and waved at Rex who sat obediently in front of her favorite spot on the couch. "Well, I am ready but-”

“Fantastic! We’re already waiting just outside of your complex.” The call was abruptly ended before the blonde could even protest. 

Slightly apprehensive, the woman looked outside of her window to the street about three floors beneath her. Sure enough, Petra’s blue sedan sat outside and Hanji was waving from the open passenger side window. Sighing heavily, Annie resigned herself to the inevitable and walked out to the car.

Thankfully, the ride was spent with Hanji getting distracted by Petra’s rather interesting description of the present that her fellow Marines had given her for her recent promotion to Gunnery Sergeant. Once they had parked and headed into the office, the redheaded woman shot Annie a knowing smile and chuckled. “You looked rather exasperated." 

"I wouldn’t be so exasperated if I didn’t have to constantly deal with Hanji asking if I’ve found someone yet.”

Petra shook her head. “They just worry about you. You’re a wonderful business woman, Annie. But Hanji just seems to think you might be happier if you had someone to boss around behind closed doors.”

Annie groaned, watching as Hanji excitedly weaved their way through the crowd of employees. “They  _would_.” She looked at her supervisor’s longtime partner and asked, “But why do they keep insisting when I’m very obviously happy without someone?”

“Maybe because they can see something you can’t?” Petra smiled and waved as Hanji approached again. “Hang on. I’ll be right back.”

Annie nodded and went to grab a glass of wine from the table of food and beverages to ease her slight anxiety. “Excuse me, are you Miss Leonhardt?”

“Yeah,” the woman replied, turning to look at the person addressing her, “who-” She paused; the woman beside her was dressed smartly in knee-length red dress with her black hair in a simple cut down to just barely above her shoulders.  _‘Oh, shit.’_

“My name is Mikasa Ackerman. I’m the new artist that your company contracted.” She smiled faintly. “I’m looking forward to working with you.”

Hanji and Petra walked up at that exact moment and Annie’s bespectacled supervisor said, “Mikasa! I see that you’ve met Annie! She’s the manager of this branch. If there’s anything you can think of that you need, you just need to ask her.” Hanji continued to prattle on with undisguised enthusiasm.

Annie simply stood there, watching as Mikasa’s smile got a little more open. The blonde woman took a sip of her wine and sighed.  _'Aaaaannd this is the asshole that’s gonna ruin everything.’_


	40. That Cute Neighbor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mikasa's been interested in her cute neighbor but when a fire breaks out in their apartment, their first meeting happens with a lot less clothing than she had imagined.

As 0307 flashed on her phone, Mikasa sighed and shoved the device back into the pocket of her lounge pants, staring at the building as smoke billowed from a few busted out windows. No one that she had talked to thus far was entirely sure of which apartment it had started in. Mikasa considered the possibility that one of the driers in the laundry room downstairs had finally caught fire. After all, those machines were ancient. People were still coming out of the building, seeing as the alarm had only gone off about two minutes ago. And, worryingly, Mikasa hadn’t seen her ~~cute~~ blonde neighbor from the apartment next door just yet.

Sirens wailed abruptly in the early morning air and Mikasa realized that the fire department had arrived, already sprinting into action. She continued to watch, growing increasingly anxious as there was still no sign of her neighbor. After a quick phone call to Eren, letting him know that her apartment building had caught fire and she might need to stay at his place, Mikasa began to walk around as a means to ease her anxiety. It was early fall and she wore a simple pair of plaid lounge pants and a tanktop, having had the capacity to also snatch her favored scarf in the commotion.  She smiled when she saw the couple from the apartment right above her own- Marco and Mina, if she remembered correctly- sitting and playing with their cat. Mina got to her feet when she noticed Mikasa, her brows knitted together slightly as she asked, “Have you seen Annie yet?”

“Annie?” Mikasa was slightly bewildered by the question but replied, “I don’t think so? I can look for her, if you’d like.”

Mina looked confused for a moment before her jaw dropped in realization and she laughed. “Oh my God, so you two haven’t even talked. I’m _so_ sorry. Annie is your neighbor! She’s my best friend. I just thought you’d know if she got out ok.” After a second longer or so, Mina asked, “Why haven’t you talked to her though?”

“Well, I never see her in the mornings when I get up for work and when I get home, she’s gone.” Mikasa added, “The only time I saw her was the day she was moving in.”

“Oh, well, Annie has weird hours. She’s a bartender at a club downtown but she’s also an artist.”

 _An artist, huh?_  Mikasa scratched the back of her neck and mumbled, “I’ll go take a look around the crowd and see if I can find her. I’ll let you know.” Her eyes widened when Mina threw her arms around Mikasa’s waist and hugged her, thanking her repeatedly before letting go and moving to sit with her boyfriend and their cat. After waving one more time, Mikasa went on her way, looking for the short blonde. Her eyes wandered the crowd of people, looking for the woman in question. She was about to give up when she finally spotted a head of messy blonde hair. “Annie? Mina was-” Her eyes widened marginally as she noticed that Annie was only in a black bra and ~~cute~~ blue boy short panties. “Mina was looking for you. She was worried since she hadn’t seen you.”

Blue eyes turned, falling on the Asian woman. Annie was an entire head shorter than Mikasa and slender in a way that made Mikasa wonder how her hips swayed when she danced. A small, cynical smirk came to her lips as she asked, “And so she sent you to look for me while she sat with Marco? Wow, she wasn’t fucking around.” At the bewildered stare on Mikasa’s face, Annie’s smirk grew and she said, “Are you gonna introduce yourself or are you just gonna stare at my ass for the next hour or so?”

“Uhm, I’m Mikasa. I,uh, I work at a bank.”

“That’s pretty tame. With those arms and abs, I would’ve guessed you were a cop or some shit. Are you security at a bank?” Annie turned to face the tall female completely, hands on her hips as she waited expectantly for an answer.

“Hm? Oh, no, I’m a bank manager. I just work out a lot with my brother. He’s a marathon runner and I sometimes go with when I don’t have anything else to do,” Mikasa replied, “I’m also a reservist in the military.” She rubbed the back of her neck. “Mina said you were an artist.”

Annie scoffed. “Of course she’d say that. I sketch a bit, just for fun. I’m going to art school but I’m seriously considering just dropping. I don’t want my art to become a job.” Annie looked pensive for a couple seconds. “If my apartment remains unaffected by this little fiasco-” She jabbed a thumb towards the building where there was no longer flames and just the faint traces of smoke. “- then maybe you’d like to see some of it. I usually just sit at the park and people watch. And sketch from that.”

“That sounds all right by me. Would you like to get coffee later? Maybe around ten thirty?”

When Annie nodded, Mikasa smiled and opened her mouth to say something else when the loud, booming voice of the fire chief informed the tenants that the building was safe. As the rest of the crowd began to walk in, the Asian woman turned to once again look at Annie and found her gone. “It’s a date then.” Annie was already several steps further along to the doors and smirked. “See you later, Ms. Bank Manager.”


	41. Residents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annie is a resident doctor and she really can't stand Mikasa, the other resident doctor on the same shift.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> annieninkapsonu asked: Person A and B are resident doctors and are on a night shift. Person A (which has less experience and priority than B) comes in the residents room to take a nap in the middle of the night only to find B sleeping on the only available couch. When about to leave the room person B stops person A and invates them to join them on the coach

Annie sighed, rubbing her eyes as she made her way down the hall to the residents room. Her feet were almost literally dragging from the exhaustion she felt. Her shift was nearly over. It was two in the morning. Annie’s last patient before things died down was some idiot who took a bet with his friends to see if he could land after jumping off a stupidly high stack of hay bales. Needless to say he failed miserably.

The other resident doctor on staff was Mikasa Ackerman. And oh how she irritated the hell out of Annie. She was a year younger than Annie but, due to health issues, Annie had been unable to graduate when she had planned. Which left her with less experience than Mikasa and, subsequently, was given lower priority. Annie scowled as she thought about it.

 _‘How could someone be as perfect as Mikasa seems to be?’_  she wondered.  _‘She’s definitely a good doctor. Her bedside manner is better than my own…’_  Annie was a bit sarcastic with patients that did arguably stupid things that landed them in the hospital. With kids, she was all right. She felt awkward around children, worried that maybe she would scare them.  _‘I guess what makes Mikasa such a pain is that she’s so fucking humble. She doesn’t act like she’s better than anyone else and I don’t know why but that makes it so much harder to really hate her.’_ Granted, Mikasa could give as good as she got and sarcasm was no exception. So when Annie would get sarcastic, Mikasa would respond in kind.

So, it was as Annie entered the residents room that she halted. On the only available couch, Mikasa Ackerman was sprawled out. She looked about as exhausted as Annie probably did. She definitely looked as tired as Annie felt, anyway. Regardless, she  _was_  on the only available couch. The blonde scowled and turned, figuring that maybe she could find an empty waiting room and pass out in a chair.

“Hey.”

Annie froze, nearly letting out a squeak of surprise. She spun with amazing speed to see Mikasa looking at her, one eye barely cracked open. “What the hell-? How long have you been awake?” she asked accusingly. 

“I’m a light sleeper; I heard your feet dragging when you were coming down the hall,” she answered. Mikasa shifted on the couch and moved to lean against the back of the couch. “Well?”

“ _Well_  what?” Annie replied. 

“You gonna lay down or what?” Mikasa announced, “You look exhausted. You need to rest.”

“Can you drop the bedside manner, I’m not your damn patient-”

“I’m not treating you like my patient, I’m telling you that you need to rest because you’re actually wobbly on your feet. Now, get your ass over here and lay down,” Mikasa grumbled.

A tense silence settled for a moment before Annie sighed heavily and made her way over to the couch. As she sat down and tried to get settled, she found it difficult not to teeter on the edge. But then, she felt an arm curl around her waist and bring her against Mikasa’s body. Her cheeks burned and she was silently thankful that she was facing away from Mikasa. “What the hell are you doing, Ackerman?”

“Getting comfortable,” she mumbled. “Now, you can get some sleep or you can be tense and rob yourself of what little rest we can get until our shift is over.” She smiled to herself when she felt Annie finally relax a bit. “I have a quick question though.”

Annie blinked tiredly but glanced over her shoulder to ask, “What?”

“Why do you hate me so much? Are you just salty because I’m taller than you are or something?”

“Do you really think I’m that salty about my height?” she muttered, eyes narrowing. 

Mikasa shrugged. “I dunno what else I’ve done other than just exist.”

“Do you realize how irritating it is to be older than you and yet you’re ranked higher than me and you’ve got a better bedside manner? Plus, you’re like not even aware of how great you are as a doctor.  _And_ you’re completely oblivious to how pretty you are. Do you even  _realize_  how many people flirt with you?” Annie questioned. 

The taller woman stayed quiet for a moment before she asked, “You think I’m pretty?” 

Annie felt her cheeks burn hotter as she hissed, “Are you-  _that’s_  the only thing you got from that?!”

Mikasa propped herself up to look at Annie. “Do you really think I’m pretty?”

“Yes, ok? You’re pretty!” The blonde doctor was trying to hide her face from being seen in the exceedingly dim light that the moonlight provided through the shades. 

There was a pause before Mikasa whispered, “Thanks. That…actually means a lot coming from you.” She began to settle back down until she saw and felt Annie roll to face her. “What?”

“Why does it mean a lot coming from me?” she asked incredulously. 

Mikasa mumbled, “Because  _you’re_  pretty?” 

“Why do you wait until two in the morning, towards the end of a twelve hour shift to tell me that you think I’m pretty?” the shorter woman demanded.

“Because I’m tired and I have no filter.” As she finally settled into place, facing Annie, she added, “Besides, you said I was pretty first.” 

Annie groaned in exasperation and muttered, “I was telling you why I hate your guts.” Running a hand over her face, the blonde announced, “God, I hate you.”

Despite having her eyes closed and being unable to see Annie’s expression, Mikasa smirked and murmured, “Well, if you hate me that much then you won’t want to go to dinner with me.” 

“Are…are you seriously asking me out?” Annie asked.

“No, I’m asking the invisible woman right behind you,” Mikasa retorted. She opened one eye to look at Annie. “Yes, I’m asking you out.”

“Fine then. But I want to go somewhere nice.”

“I know this really nice little Italian restaurant,” the brunette responded, smiling tiredly. 

“And you’re paying.”

“Ok then.”

“Wait, seriously?”

“Annie?” Mikasa asked.

“Yeah?”

“Can you shut up and go to sleep?”


	42. That Goth Girl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Social butterfly she was not but that didn't seem to deter Mikasa from asking Annie out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> casualmemeatanniexmikasa asked: What about one with a goth!Annie and Mikasa in college, and Mikasa asks Annie out for coffee or something like that and Annie is flustered a bit because she didn't think anyone would make a move on her because she's a goth?

Annie was used to being, what most would call, a social outcast. And, seeing as she was an introvert, she liked it that way. Every once in a while, her professors would require them to work in pairs or small groups and it counted towards participation. Unfortunately, these were the hardest projects for Annie unless it was during her art history lecture. 

The reason being a certain Mikasa Ackerman. Mikasa was, from what Annie gleaned during their conversations between working on the assignments, on an academic scholarship and was planning to major in history. From the way Mikasa talked, Annie figured she’d make a good teacher. Or maybe a good lawyer. 

And there were several times that Annie found herself distracted by Mikasa’s very pretty face. During one such assignment, Annie had to blink and bring herself back to the actual conversation when she heard Mikasa say her name. “Huh?”

“Are we looking at Pre-Dynastic or Early Dynastic?” Mikasa repeated. 

She glanced at the examples and replied, “Pre-Dynastic. See?” She pointed to the indicators and couldn’t help but smile a little when she saw Mikasa nod in agreement. After a moment, Annie muttered, “I’m super bored right now. Everyone else is kind of arguing.” 

Mikasa nodded again and mumbled, “Yeah.” They sat quietly for a time before Mikasa asked, “Hey, where do you get your clothes?”

“Huh? Oh, uh, Dolls Kill,” she answered. Annie studied her nails, rather than risk looking directly at Mikasa and blushing. She felt a small pout come on as she noticed a small chip in her black nail polish. “Damn.”

“I love your clothes, they’re always really cute,” Mikasa responded. She reached over and gently took Annie’s hand, glancing at her nails as well. “Here, gimme a sec.” She reached into her bag and produced a small bottle of nail polish.

“Do you seriously carry nail polish in your bag?” Annie asked incredulously. 

“Listen, some classes are literally just that boring.” She carefully painted over the chip and asked, “So, would you want to get coffee sometime?”

Annie froze, eyes widening. “Are- did you just ask me out?”

“Yeah, do you want to get coffee with me?” She added, “This is fast-drying, by the way, so it’ll be set here in about a minute or two.” Mikasa put the bottle back into her purse and then rested her chin on her hands as she glanced at Annie. “So?”

“Uh, yeah. Sure,” she mumbled. “But, uhm, why…me?” 

“Because you’re cute?” Mikasa replied, almost confused by the question. “Besides that you’re smart and can carry an intelligent conversation on topics I’m similarly interested in.” 

Annie blushed and turned her head away, muttering, “W-well, I mean, sure.”

Mikasa smiled and, as their class ended, she stated, “Awesome. I always wanted to have a cute, goth girlfriend.”


	43. Daycare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annie never expected to run into her high school crush after so long. And especially not as she's dropping her daughter of. Only to find out that Mikasa actually worked there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> titoooo77 asked: How about Annie has a child and took her to a daycare then she finds out that Mikasa, her high school crush, works there.

“Mama, I don’t wanna go,” the little girl mumbled from her car seat. Her blonde hair was pulled into a little ponytail and she clung to her stuffed bear.

“Nadya, you’ll be ok, I promise,” Annie replied gently. As she pulled into the parking spot, she glanced back at her daughter and smiled softly. “C’mon, you’ll only be here for a little bit and then I’ll come pick you up, ok?” 

Nadya’s little face scrunched up and she looked at her mother seriously. “Promise?”

“Promise,” she answered. 

There was a pause in the conversation as Annie got out of the car and went to get Nadya out of her seat. As she was being unbuckled, the little girl inquired, “Can I take Boris with me?”

Annie nodded. “I’m sure you can, sweetheart.” Once Nadya was out and the car locked, Annie took her hand and guided her towards the door of the daycare. “I want you to be on your best behavior, ok? You can’t wrestle with the other kids like you do with Ace.”

“But Ace is a dog.”

“I know Ace is a dog but the other kids probably won’t enjoy it like he does.” 

As they entered, Annie froze when she heard a familiar voice ask, “Annie? Oh my God, it _is_ you.” Annie’s attention snapped up to see Mikasa walking towards her. She flashed her a small smile before kneeling to Nadya’s height. “And what’s your name?”

The little girl blushed and hugged her bear tighter before mumbling, “Nadya…”

“Nadya? That’s very pretty. I’m Ms. Ackerman; I’ll be one of your teachers,” Mikasa explained. She looked over when a little boy ran up. “What is it, Eli?”

Eli pointed at Nadya. “Whosat?”

“Nadya,” the little girl retorted, her expression indignant.

“I’m Eli,” he cheerfully said, offering out a hand. “I like your bear.”

“His name is Boris.”

“Do you want to come sit with me and Cayden?” He pointed over at a boy with bright red hair. “We’re playing with blocks.”

Nadya glanced up at her mother and smiled when Annie nodded. Then, she turned back to Eli and said, “Yeah, ok.” 

As the kids went off together, Mikasa stood back up and smirked, “Your daughter is cute.”

“Thanks, she’s a little heathen,” Annie retorted with a grin. As she watched Nadya play with the two boys, she asked, “So how long have you been working here?”

“About three years. I got a degree in early education. I figured that since I love kids, this would be a good career for me,” Mikasa stated. She then asked, “What have you been up to? Graduation feels like forever ago.”

Annie shrugged. “Just been raising Nadya. Thankfully I do medical coding and release of information forms, so I get to work from home. It’s been good while Nadya has been little.” When Mikasa only nodded, she muttered, “You’re not curious about who her father is?”

“Not really,” Mikasa said, “it’s none of my business.”

“Probably good because I don’t even really know much. Just a donor,” Annie laughed. “I’m just glad she’s turned out so wonderfully.” 

“You’re a wonderful mother then.” The taller woman grinned when she saw Annie blush. “I’ll make sure she’ll be ok, in case you’re worried she’ll have separation anxiety.” 

The blonde reached up and tucked some of her hair behind her ear. Her heart was beating faster than normal and Annie knew, immediately, that her crush from so long ago had apparently never really lessened. So with Mikasa still looking as beautiful as she did back in high school, Annie knew that she would soon be a mess if she didn’t leave. “I probably should get going.” 

“Oh.” Mikasa almost sounded disappointed. “Well, I’m sure she’ll be excited to see you when you come back.” She smiled, almost sadly, as Annie walked out the door.

* * *

It soon became a normal thing for Annie to stick around and chat with Mikasa for a good half hour after bringing Nadya to the daycare. As they pulled into the parking lot on Friday, Nadya piped up and asked, “Mama, does Ms. Ackerman like you?”

Annie nearly spat out her coffee and and rounded to stare at her daughter. “What do you mean?”

“Well, ‘cause she smiles a lot when you’re there and she always asks me how you are if you don’t stick around very long. And she always tells me stuff about when you guys went to school together.” Nadya paused and added, “You were a brat.” 

She looked at her daughter with a deadpan expression and muttered, “Thanks. That means you’re a mini-brat. Now, let’s get going. It’s Friday and that means that when you come home, it’ll be movie night.”

Nadya lit up and nodded excitedly. “Can we watch _Moana_?”

“We watched Moana last Friday, sweetie,” Annie said as she got her daughter out of the seat. “You know we watch something different every Friday.”

The little girl murmured, “True. Ok, what about _Beauty and the Beast_?”

Annie held Nadya’s hand as they walked in and answered, “Ok, that sounds good. It’s been a while since we watched that.” And, as soon as they entered, Nadya ran to hug Mikasa’s legs before running to go play with Eli and Cayden, who had apparently become her best friends. “So. Nadya tells me that you ask about me,” Annie drawled, smiling as she saw a blush come to Mikasa’s cheeks.

“I just worry when you don’t stick around. We usually talk and I just-”

“You know, I used to have a massive crush on you back in high school,” Annie admitted. She watched Mikasa’s expression carefully, wondering how this exchange would go.

Mikasa whispered, “Used to?” Her voice was small, carrying a tone of worry. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Mikasa, we were teenagers and I got flustered around you. Why do you think I tried to avoid most casual interactions with you?” 

“I thought you didn’t like me,” she replied. 

Annie rolled her eyes. “Lord, you’re still a pain in the ass.” She grinned when she saw Mikasa pout and took a step closer. “Look. My daughter and I are having our weekly movie night tonight. She has chosen _Beauty and the Beast_. If you want, you can come over and join us.”

Mikasa brightened and murmured, “I’m a sucker for Disney movies. And pretty women.” She reached out and gently brushed her hand over Annie’s, blushing slightly. “It’s a date then.”

“Ooooh, Ms. Ackerman and Nadya’s mom are holding hands!” Eli shouted. 

The taller woman instantly withdrew her hand and turned, chiding the boy gently, “Eli, what have I said about using your inside voice?”

Annie could only smile and blush a little.


	44. Couples Workout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They love to work out but Annie's mind is on something else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hoverboard-dinosaur asked: Mikasa and Annie exercising together drabble? Use all those couple-y exercise techniques like one sitting on the other's feet while they do sit-ups

Their workout routines had changed after they got together. Mikasa had suggested it, after one of their typical sparring matches. Annie raised her brow incredulously. “You want to do a _couples_  workout?”

Mikasa smirked and asked, “What, are you afraid you won’t be able to keep up with me?” She grinned and ducked away when Annie threw a halfhearted punch at her. “C’mon, it might be fun.”

“Ok, ok,” Annie conceded, “we can try it on Thursday after work.” She just smiled and rolled her eyes when Mikasa grinned excitedly. “Dork.”

“I’m a geek, thank you,” her taller girlfriend corrected her. They each leaned in for a kiss as they walked towards the showers. “What do you want me to make for dinner tonight?” 

“Pork chops sound good. Maybe in that wine sauce you made last time.”

* * *

Thursday’s workout solidified Annie’s opinion and afterwards, they did a couples workout from then on. It was one day after work that Mikasa was doing crunches with Annie sitting on her feet, holding her legs tight with her chin resting on Mikasa’s knees. Each time Mikasa would sit up, she’d tap a kiss to Annie’s lips. “What’s up?” Mikasa asked. “You look pensive.”

“I was thinking. We’ve been living together for a while.”

The woman doing crunches nodded and hummed, “Yep, we have.”

Annie averted her eyes from her girlfriend as she mumbled, “Well, I was just wondering if you thought we were ready for getting engaged.”

Mikasa sat up, bracing herself with her hands. “How long have you been thinking about it?”

“A while,” she mumbled in return. Annie questioned, “You finished your reps on the crunches. Did you want to do the pull-up bar?” When Mikasa nodded, Annie pulled her to her feet and waited while Mikasa got up on the bar before she carefully latched onto Mikasa, wrapping her legs around her waist and holding onto her shoulders. 

After Mikasa pulled herself and Annie up, as soon as their chins were above the bar, they kissed. As they lowered for the next rep, Mikasa said, “Well, we have been together for a while.” They kissed again and then she announced, “I think we’re definitely ready for it. I mean, I definitely love you. So that’s not an issue.”

“Good to know,” Annie tried to retort in a deadpan. She failed miserably as her lips quirked into a smile. “Well, I was just wondering. I didn’t want to ask and, you know, make you feel pressured or whatever. I’m not a dick.”

A moment passed before Mikasa outright grinned. “Well, you _can_ be a dick but I know you’re being playful.” She laughed when Annie scowled at her. “C’mon, you know how you can be.”

“Yeah, yeah, shut up…” the blonde woman muttered, blushing slightly. Still, she was smiling, and Mikasa took that as a good sign. She gave a squeak of surprise when Mikasa abruptly let go of the bar.

Mikasa still managed to wrap her arms around Annie to make sure she didn’t fall. Her landing was hard but she smiled regardless. “So. When were you planning on asking?”

“I’m not telling you, stupid, that would ruin the surprise.”


	45. Blind Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> erurink said: how about you write about one of them always getting set up on really bad blind dates, so they’re really not looking forward to this one but omg this girl is really interesting and beautiful

Mikasa was skeptical when Armin called her Thursday night. “Hey, Mikasa, so I was thinking-”

“Are you trying to set me up again?” she asked flatly. 

“W-what makes you say that…” The waver in his voice was a dead giveaway and Mikasa could only roll her eyes as her childhood friend continued, “But, well, I was thinking and I met someone who I think you’d actually really like.”

She sighed heavily and muttered, “You said that the last six times…” 

“Just one more chance, Mikasa, please, this one is really, really good!” Armin honestly sounded like he really thought it would work. She could tell when he was being genuine and when he was only trying to be reassuring. 

“Fine.” Mikasa heard him gasp and almost imagined the way his face was probably lit up. “But this is the last one. If this doesn’t pan out, I don’t want you to do this anymore.” 

“Ok, ok, ok, just go to the Fourth Street Grill tomorrow at six, all right?”

“You’re not gonna tell me to make sure I look nice?”

Armin seemed baffled as he replied, “You always look nice. Besides, I know you’d want to look good anyway.” That, at least, made Mikasa smile.

* * *

After parking her car around the corner, due to lack of parking space in front of the grill, Mikasa strode towards the restaurant. Anxiety fluttered in her stomach, regardless of her apprehension. She was dressed nicely, having chosen to wear her fitted vest over a grey button-up. It had been a solid three-hour struggle to decide if she should wear a dress or nice slacks and a dress shirt. The latter eventually won out as she realized she had to be at the restaurant in fifteen minutes. “I have a reservation for Ackerman?”

“Ackerman?” The hostess checked her ledger and nodded, flashing her a brilliant smile. “Right here! Your guest already arrived. Let me take you to her.” She led Mikasa through the dining room to a small booth where a blonde woman sat in a pale blue sundress. The hostess seemed oblivious to the way Mikasa’s jaw visibly dropped. “Your server will be Tarren. She’ll be right over. Enjoy!” 

As Mikasa sat down, she said, “Sorry if I kept you waiting long.”

“I only just got seated two minutes ago. So it’s all right,” the blonde answered. She reached over and said, “Annie Leonhardt.”

“Mikasa Ackerman,” she answered. After they shook hands and settled back in their seats, Mikasa announced, “Your dress is nice. It brings out your eyes.”

Annie actually looked shy for a moment as her cheeks grew pink. She brought a hand up to her face and laughed, “You couldn’t think of anything less cliché?” 

“S-sorry. I mean, at least I didn’t say something asinine or offensive…” Mikasa reached up and fidgeted with the braid she put in her hair. 

“That’s true. It’s a lot better than that guy who told me I had nice tits.” 

Her eyes widened. “Oh my God, no, that’s awful.” She blushed and hurriedly added, “Not to say that you don’t but- I wasn’t looking at your chest. I notice people’s eyes first. It usually gives me a good idea of their general nature.” 

Annie snickered, “What’s wrong? Are you always this eloquent?” 

“Sh-” she paused when a young woman came up to their table. 

“What can I get you ladies to drink?” 

“Wine, for me,” Mikasa replied. “A pinot noir.”

The blonde stated, “I’ll take that Elusive IPA.” 

“All right, would you like to start with an appetizer, do you need a little more time to look at the menus?” Tarren asked. 

“Just one more minute, if that’s all right,” the brunette answered. 

“Absolutely,” the waitress replied, “I’ll be right back with your drinks.”

As she hurried off, Mikasa actually took one brief look at the menu before glancing back up at Annie. “I didn’t take you for a beer person.”

Annie smirked. “I’m full of surprises. Although, I’m hardly surprised that you’re a wine drinker. You look very…mature.”

One brow rose and Mikasa retorted playfully, “Are you calling me old?” She grinned when, for once, Annie was the one to look flustered. “Don’t worry, I know that’s not what you meant.” Their drinks arrived and after ordering, Mikasa took a small sip of her wine before asking, “So, who set you up for this?”

“Guy from work,” Annie replied. “Armin. Nice guy. For a while, I thought he had been trying to flirt with me but then he mentioned he had a husband. So he obviously was not interested.” She laughed a little. “He told me he had a friend that was looking for a girlfriend and I thought I’d give it a shot.”

Mikasa nodded and smiled. “Yeah, Armin is married to my adoptive brother. They’ve been together since…well, freshman year of high school. I’m not really sure how they’ve done it.” She shrugged and again reached up to nervously touch the braid in her hair. “Did he say anything about me? I’m worried he told you something embarrassing.”

“Just said that you were extremely attractive and intelligent. Successful too, on top of that.” Annie sat back a little. “So what do you do?”

“I own an interior decorating business. We get good clients- we actually just decorated the interior of the new hospital addition.” She said, “I did offer to do that one for free though. But the hospital wouldn’t hear of it.”

“Nice.” Their food arrived and Annie looked thankful. “Oh, good, I’m starving. I just got off work, went home and changed and then walked right back out the door. I’ve been busy all day.” 

“Same,” Mikasa agreed. For several moments, all they did was eat. It wasn’t until she was about halfway through her steak that Mikasa said, “I’ll admit I was wary of coming at all. Armin has tried setting me up on blind dates before and each one was a disaster of its own kind.” She smiled softly. “I’m glad I decided to come anyway.”

“I’m glad too. Armin was right. You are  _really_  attractive.” Annie asked, “Hey, do you know where that big entertainment complex is off Wall Highway?”

“The one with the huge blue sign?”

“Yep.”

Mikasa nodded. “Yeah, I know it. Why?”

“Do you wanna go play pool and get more drinks after dinner?” the blonde responded.

It took her just a second to reply excitedly, “Definitely.”


	46. Couch Potato

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> erurink said: one of them is a health nut and the other is a couch potato. but then they get turned into a health nut as well and they work out together all the time

“Mikasa, are you seriously eating those godawful chips again?” Annie asked from where she stood in the doorway between the living room and kitchen. 

“What?” Mikasa, admittedly, was eating what Annie called ‘those godawful chips’ again. She retorted, “I’ve got a good metabolism. I’ve always just eaten what I wanted and it has literally never caused me any trouble.” 

Annie rolled her eyes. “I don’t understand how. You hardly work out.” 

The taller woman frowned, putting the bag down so she could cross her arms over her chest. “That doesn’t mean anything. I’ve still got abs. And I do crunches and stuff.” She huffed and turned to face the TV rather than face her girlfriend. 

“Mikasa, I’m not trying to make you feel bad. But you told me yourself that you don’t know much about your family’s medical history because you were orphaned so early.” She watched carefully as the look on Mikasa’s face went from petulance to genuine sadness. “We have no idea if there’s a higher chance for certain illnesses or health disorders. So wouldn’t it be better to just be a little more…cautious about it?” 

“Guess so…” Mikasa murmured quietly. She huddled up in her little corner of the couch and watched the screen blankly. Even when Annie walked over to sit beside her, Mikasa refused to meet her girlfriend’s eyes. 

Annie reached over and gently touched the small of Mikasa’s back. “C’mon. I’ve got an idea for dinner that I think you’ll like. And tomorrow we can hit the gym together. Sound ok?”

There was a small huff that came from Mikasa, almost sounding petulant again, but otherwise, she didn’t argue. “Yeah, sure…”

* * *

Three months later saw a brand new Mikasa. Beforehand, even with minimal exercise, Mikasa had already had fairly nice looking abs. But after beginning to be a ‘health nut’ as she so affectionately called Annie, it was like looking at the body of a god. Mikasa was even more toned than before and Annie took great pleasure in testing her girlfriend’s stamina in various ways.

One evening, as they were walking back to their apartment after an intense workout session at the gym, Mikasa glanced over at Annie and muttered, “Y’know, when you first got onto me about all that junk food that I ate and my lack of activity, I was kind of pissed.”

“You don’t say,” Annie retorted sarcastically. She dodged nimbly when the taller woman swung at her. It was playful, so Annie had no real fear of getting hurt. After they got in the elevator, Annie muttered, “I was only worried, that’s why I mentioned it. I lost my mom and then my dad to health complications because they didn’t do anything to really maintain their health. My mom had so much plaque built up in her arteries that it caused a heart attack and then my dad, well, he had diabetes. So I guess I’m just paranoid…”

Mikasa nodded. “I get that. I don’t know a lot about my parents’ medical histories. They just released the paperwork to me last month concerning my parents; so I’ve still gotta go through it all.”

As she kicked her shoes off, Annie questioned, “Do you want to take a bath together? And then we can have a light dinner.”

“Definitely,” the other woman replied, “I’m so sore.”

“Ok, c’mon, brat.” Annie got the water running while Mikasa put their clothes in the laundry. It wasn’t until they had settled in the water that the blonde leaned back against her girlfriend’s chest. “God this feels good.”

“Yeah.” They just sat for a while in the hot water, letting the heat soak in and relax their muscles. “Do you want me to do that grilled chicken that you like so much?”

“With salad?”

“Well, yeah.” 

Annie smiled faintly. “And to think, I thought you couldn’t cook healthy food.” She snickered when Mikasa flicked her shoulder. “C’mon, I’m just giving you a hard time. I knew you were great at cooking. But your recipes felt a little heavy…”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Mikasa laughed. “There was a lot of rice and pasta and sauces and I know that it was a little heavy as far as ingredients.”

Shifting slightly, Annie glanced back at Mikasa and smiled warmly. “Thank you.”

Mikasa grinned and leaned in, kissing the tip of Annie’s nose. “Of course.”


	47. Sleepwalking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ml-commonswift said: Annie always sleepwalks into Mikasa’s lap

After Annie had gotten out of the crystal and her relationship with Mikasa improved, the captain began to notice a change in the blonde woman. Specifically, she noticed that Annie had developed a habit of  _sleepwalking_.

Which, in and of itself, was not particularly strange. She had seen other members of the Legion sleepwalk .

But it was where Annie would sleepwalk that struck Mikasa as strange.

It started out that Annie would sleepwalk down the hallway where Mikasa’s room was located. Mikasa had happened to be coming off of fire watch one night that the incident occurred. So, she gently led Annie back to her room and left it at that.

Then, when they began getting closer, more like friends than anything else, Annie would sleepwalk right to Mikasa’s door and sleep leaning against the door. The first time it happened, Mikasa almost didn’t catch her simply out of shock that Annie was even there. 

Finally, Mikasa started leaving her door unlocked on the off chance that Annie would sleepwalk to her room again. And, sure enough, Annie walked right in. Eyes closed, movements somewhat clumsy, and sporting some disastrous bed head, the blonde flopped right into Mikasa’s lap. 

It was an amusing turn of events, really. When that first began happening, Mikasa would carry Annie back to her own room and put her back in bed. And Annie would seem to have no memory of it in the morning. One night, however, Mikasa got curious. She waited for Annie to come stumbling in and instead of carrying Annie back to her room, she left the blonde sleeping on her lap. When morning came, Mikasa woke to subtle movement and saw Annie turning over on her lap. Quietly, she mumbled, “Annie, it’s time to wake up.”

“Five more minutes,” Annie retorted sleepily, her words slurring a little. However, it seemed as if it registered that someone had actually spoken and her eyes snapped open. The blonde scrambled off of Mikasa’s lap and exclaimed, “Whoa, wait!” Just before she could fall off, the captain reached out and pulled Annie safely away from the edge. The blonde demanded, “What the fuck, why am I- I thought I only dreamed that I came to see you.”

A smirk curled Mikasa’s lips and she inquired, “You dreamed that you came to see me?”

Annie’s face flushed bright red and she snapped, “As if it’s any of your business!” She looked around and muttered, “Damn, your room is nice.”

“The only perk of being an officer that I like,” Mikasa replied dryly. She crossed her arms and leaned back against the wall that her bed was pushed against. “So. Did you realize that you’ve been sleepwalking?”

“Wha- uh,  _no_? I’ve been dead asleep. I just thought that I was walking around in my dreams. I didn’t realize I was actually,  _physically_  walking around.” Annie averted her eyes so that she wouldn’t have to look at the way too curious expression on Mikasa’s face. “Look, can we just forget that this happened?”

“Not really,” the captain drawled, “since this isn’t the only time this has happened. I just let you stay in here so I could figure out if you were even aware this was happening.” 

The blonde growled, “Well, apparently, I didn’t know. So can I leave now?” 

Mikasa sighed heavily. “Yeah, you can go. Sorry. I’ll just carry you back to your room next time.”

“Do what now? Carry me back?”

“Yeah, I’ve done that for like two weeks and a half now.”

Annie stared at her, almost horrified by her apparent lack of control. “How long have I been doing this?”

“Sleepwalking in general or sleepwalking into my room and onto my lap?”

“B-both.”

“Sleepwalking in general about three months now.” Mikasa watched as Annie brought her hands up to hide her face. “Sleepwalking right into my lap? Probably a week and a half. I carried you back for about a week prior when you slept standing up against my door.” She added, “You’re lucky I caught you. It’d suck to get woken up by a broken nose because you crashed to the floor.” She grinned at Annie as the blonde groaned.

“Oh my God,  _no_ ,” she whined. “Ok, look, I just dreamed about coming to see you to talk and stuff. That’s it.”

“So you just want to be friends?”

“Not just friends but like-” Annie rolled her eyes and looked away again. “Nevermind. I’m gonna go back to my room now…” She began to stand up when Mikasa caught her hand. “What?”

“Do you want to get coffee with me? My treat,” Mikasa offered. 

Annie blinked, blue eyes filled with shock. “Are you asking me out?”

“Do you want coffee or not?” the captain retorted. 

The blonde quickly retorted, “Ok, deal, I want coffee!” 

Mikasa grinned. “I’ll meet you in the quad in fifteen minutes.”


	48. That Ca

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> maximumannie said: I would of asked at midnight, but I fell asleep! Maybe you could do one where Mikasa brings a cat home from her work (She works at a pet shop or something like that) and Annie doesn't like it at first and would be annoyed by the cat but starts to warm up to it when the cat sticks by her side a lot?

Ordinarily, Annie thought she got along with animals fairly well. Animals seemed to like her. So with Mikasa being a vet, things weren’t that bad. However, she soon learned that Mikasa was the type to go the extra mile to make sure that seriously malnourished or injured animal would get the constant care it needed to heal. 

This included bringing animals home for a night or two to make sure post-surgery animals were all right. On one particular evening, Mikasa walked in with a carrier in hand. Annie sighed heavily and muttered, “Another post-op?”

“Nah, this little guy is just malnourished. I’m gonna make sure he’s eating all right. I’ve been bottle feeding him every three to four hours,” the vet answered. She set the carrier down as she slipped out of her shoes and then opened the carrier. A thin, grey kitten stuck its head out briefly before huddling back inside. “C’mon, buddy, it’s ok…” Mikasa carefully reached in and brought the kitten out of the carrier.

Annie felt a pang of guilt. The poor animal was small enough to fit in Mikasa’s palm. “Yikes, where did they find that thing? In a dumpster?”

Mikasa looked pained as she replied, “Sadly, no. He was the only survivor in a house that some people had ran out on to avoid paying rent. I dunno how he made it.” She walked over and set the kitten down on the couch beside Annie. “Will you keep an eye on him while I make dinner?” 

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll take care of him. He’s pitiful.” After so many times of Mikasa bringing animals home and spending almost the entire evening with the animal instead of Annie, the blonde was slightly annoyed by the kitten. She kept it to herself though, knowing that Mikasa’s heart was too damn big for its own good. 

She also knew that Mikasa had a particular soft spot for cats. And, after dinner was done and Mikasa had fed the kitten again, she got up and kissed her girlfriend’s forehead. “I’m gonna shower real fast, all right?” 

“Sure. I’ll just watch Chopped or whatever,” Annie replied. However, as she was watching, the blonde felt something bump against her hip. She glanced over to see the kitten leaning against her. Annie carefully scooped it up and placed it on the other side of the couch. “Oh, no you don’t. You stay over there, you little pain in the ass.” Not five minutes later, Annie felt something bump her hip again and she saw the kitten had walked back over to her. “You don’t understand  _no_ , do you?” 

This happened three more times before she felt the kitten bump her hip and a small mewl left him. His big eyes stared up at her and Annie clenched her jaw, trying not to get attached. It happened fairly often that she’d grow attached to whatever animal Mikasa had brought home and then she wouldn’t see them again. “Why do you have to be some  _damn_  cute? I don’t  _want_  to like you.” 

He mewled again, one of his small paws coming up to rest on the top of her leg. Annie scowled and muttered, “Fine. But only for right now. When Mikasa gets back, you’re staying with her.”

As soon as Mikasa had returned, Annie promptly handed the kitten to her. However, she watched with mild shock as it climbed out of Mikasa’s lap to curl up against Annie’s leg. She glanced at her girlfriend and muttered, “So when does the furball go back?”

“Well, I was hoping he doesn’t have to. I was gonna wait until later on to ask if you’d mind keeping him.” Mikasa smiled warmly. “He seems to really like you.”

Annie muttered, “Sure. His name is Dustbin.”

“Annie,” Mikasa gasped.

“What? He looks like a little dust ball that you sweep out from under the couch,” she retorted.


	49. Cooking Lesson

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> erurink said: one of them is really good at cooking and the other sucks at it. When the other has a major cooking fail, the first one teaches them to cook

Annie was a little embarrassed to admit that she wasn’t that great at cooking. It hadn’t exactly been super necessary while living at home with her step-dad, who insisted on cooking by himself. And then, moving into a dorm on campus during college, the only thing she could really use was a microwave. But then, she met Mikasa and after a year and a half of dating, they decided to move in together. 

She was surprised, however, at how great Mikasa was at cooking. Annie didn’t have the heart to really bring up her lack of culinary skills because Mikasa almost always got home before she did and had dinner ready every time. There was one day that Mikasa had to work late. Annie figured that if she got one of those box dinners and followed the directions that it couldn’t turn out terribly. 

And oh, how she was wrong. The result was burnt hamburger, noodles that were stuck to the pan and a sauce that didn’t stir completely together. So when Mikasa arrived home, Annie was in the kitchen trying to clean up and she looked sheepish when Mikasa walked in. “Hey, uhm. I tried to cook dinner and, uhm, well. I don’t know how to cook.”

Mikasa looked bemused more than anything else as she put her things down on one of the chairs. “I can teach you. Don’t worry.” She grabbed some ingredients from the fridge and announced, “Do you want to learn how to make stew?”

“Uh, sure,” Annie responded, perking up slightly. She eagerly watched as Mikasa began to show her how to cut the vegetables. “Aren’t you supposed to cut the meat before you brown it?” she questioned, having remembered seeing the technique on cooking shows.

“Not necessarily,” Mikasa answered. “It’s easier to brown it when it’s the whole cut because it takes less time and less moisture evaporates from the meat.”

Annie’s eyes widened and she muttered, “Oh. That makes a lot more sense.” She stood right beside Mikasa as she was being instructed and felt her cheeks warm significantly when Mikasa moved to stand behind her and guide her movements. “What are you doing, you nerd?”

“Teaching you to cook,” her girlfriend replied cheerfully. She guided Annie’s arms as she turned the meat over to brown. “And don’t push down on the meat.”

“Because it pushes the juices out, right?”

Mikasa grinned. “Exactly. See, you can cook.” She tilted her head to kiss Annie’s cheek. “Ok, do you think that you can finish browning it while I get vegetables cooking down a bit?”

“Yeah, definitely.” Annie watched out of the corner of her eye as Mikasa worked, being sure to keep her focus on her own task, however. Once the meat was browned, she removed it from the heat and waited for Mikasa to instruct her further. “Sorry I never told you that I can’t cook.”

“It never came up in conversation,” the brunette said. She asked, “Did you never have a chance to learn?”

“Not really. My mom died when I was pretty young, leaving me with my step-dad. And he was kind of a control freak, so he didn’t trust me around the appliances. Still got mad if I never did any chores though.” Annie rolled her eyes. “I dunno what happened to my biological dad. He might be out there somewhere and not even know I exist.” She added, “And then, I lived in the dorms the entire time I was in college. And all I had was a microwave.” 

Mikasa nodded. “Oh. Well, that’s ok. You’re learning now.” She reached over and rested her hand in the small of Annie’s back. “Everything making sense so far?”

“Yep. What can I do next?” 

And as the lesson progressed, Annie found herself questioning more and retaining just as much. In fact, she was already looking forward to finding recipes they could try together. As the stew was getting closer to being done and she was more comfortable with knowing what to look for, Annie asked quietly, “Can we cook together more often?”

Her girlfriend was quiet for a moment and Annie feared a negative answer. Then, Mikasa smiled brilliantly and chirped, “Of course!” 

Annie blushed, seeing as she thought Mikasa’s enthusiasm was endearing. She murmured, “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Mikasa leaned in to kiss her gently. 


	50. Online

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> erurink said: Annie is a nerd who spends all her time online and makes friends with Mikasa through the magic of the internet. They actually live near each other and agree to meet up and oh no she’s hot!

As she had progressed from elementary into middle school, Annie had found herself spending more and more time on the internet. It was better to her than the kids in her school and it sure beat arguing with her step-dad constantly. Even as she got through high school and began her freshman year in college, Annie still preferred the company she found online rather than the people around her. This became even easier once she started to talk to someone named “Mikasa” who had found Annie’s blog of random art, memes and aesthetic posts. 

After a particularly long day of classes, Annie immediately grabbed her laptop so she could message Mikasa. Though, the blonde didn’t particularly want to start with how rough the day had been. 

>  _What’s up lame-o?_

>>  _What’s lame is you saying ‘lame-o’ but whatever. Fr tho not much. I’ve got a metric fuckton of shit to do for my psych lecture tomorrow. But I’m planning on going to this meeting around 7:30_

_> I feel that. What kind of meeting tho_

_> > You can’t fucking laugh if I tell you_

_> Deal_

_> > I’m a wiccan and my college has a group of people who all practice together._

_> My school has that too. Sounds cool tho. Also, how’s your brother doing? You said things had kinda fallen out between you two…_

_> > Oh, well, I’m moving out anyway. I’m getting an apartment close to campus so I don’t have to commute as far for class. You’d think the university would get a little more creative with some of their building names. Utgard Hall sounds shady af_

_> Utgard Hall? You go to Trost University too?_

_> > Wait, you go to TU?_

_> Holy fuck, I didn’t know you lived that close. I didn’t even know you went here. I wonder if I’ve seen you on campus before…_

_> > Do you want to meet up for coffee or something? At Earth Grounds?_

_> Like when?_

_> > Can you meet up like now?_

Annie’s heart nearly stopped. She loved talking to Mikasa and the fact that they went to the same school was flooring information, to say the least. 

> _Yeah, I’ll be there in five_

She tugged her shoes back on, deciding that showing up in her tracksuit pants was good enough. Annie did, however, brush through her hair and pull it back into a bun again so that she didn’t look like a complete mess. So, when she walked into Earth Grounds, she pulled out her phone and messaged again.

>  _Where are you at? I just walked in._

_> > Just a sec_

A woman got up from a table at the back corner and began to walk over. And instead of her heart stopping, Annie’s heart started to pound. If this woman was Mikasa, she was definitely in trouble because she was not expecting her to be that damn attractive. “Annie?”

“Yeah,” she replied lamely. 

The taller woman- because she was much taller than Annie herself- smiled and stated, “I’m Mikasa. It’s nice to finally meet you. What do you want to get? Their cortados are absolutely killer.”

“ _Cortado_?” Her eyes widened when Mikasa took her hand and began to tug her to the counter. She listened intently as Mikasa began to explain what the cortado was and Annie could only nod while the brunette ordered for her.

Oh, she was screwed.


	51. Stormy Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mikannie prompt: Mikasa being afraid of storms and annie but falling asleep because Annie's comforting her by cuddling and petting her head

There were a couple days in her life that she would frequently only refer to as  _that_  day. One was a day that she shared with thousands of others who witnessed and somehow escaped the destruction of the wall and Shiganshina being overrun with titans. 

The other was more personal, more poignant. Mikasa didn’t speak of it to anyone. Armin knew a little bit by default because she had spent so much time with him and Eren and they were her family. Eren obviously knew because he was the one who saved her from a fate she didn’t want to think about. 

And it was because of  _that_  particular day that Mikasa disliked storms. In fact, she’d venture to say that she was even afraid of them. The air had shifted about halfway through the day and she felt her stomach flip when dark clouds began to roll overhead. Though, because it hadn’t started to rain yet, Shadis kept them out and performing drills until it was time for chow. 

As they walked back to the chow hall, Mikasa kept her gaze down and tried not to think of the growing static in the air. It was thick with tension and Mikasa could hardly bring herself to eat. Beside her, Eren stated, “Mikasa, you have to eat something.”

“I know,” she replied quietly. Slowly, she forced herself to stomach her bread and a little of the stew that was served. She felt eyes on her and Mikasa happened to glance up, seeing Annie staring at her from across the room. It was a knowing look. One that said she remembered what Mikasa had said that day in the kitchen. Somehow, Mikasa felt as if Annie was looking right into her soul. It was disconcerting. She and Annie had never been particularly close. Most people considered them to be rivals, if anything. Mikasa lowered her eyes back to her food and again tried to eat a little more until she felt a sharp pain behind her right eye. Her vision swam momentarily and she dropped her spoon with a clatter, hand flying up to apply pressure to her right temple. 

“Ackerman! What’s wrong with you?” Shadis demanded. He saw the girl begin to cry but waited for an explanation. It had to be something serious if his top trainee was in enough pain to cry.

She managed to raise her voice and steady it enough to reply, “I’m getting a migraine, Sir.”

He sighed heavily and pointed to the door. “Get back to your rack and get some sleep. I expect you to be at formation in the morning.” 

Getting to her feet, Mikasa could only nod. “Yes, Sir.” 

Shadis called, “Leonhardt, you done eating?”

“Yes, Sir,” she replied flatly.

“Make sure Ackerman gets to her rack. I don’t need her getting a concussion if she can’t stay on her feet,” he ordered. 

The blonde got up and followed Mikasa out of the chow hall. They walked back to their barracks in relative silence, with only the sound of Mikasa’s stifled tears making noise. As they were getting closer, Annie quietly asked, “How bad is it?”

Though she debated brushing it off, Mikasa finally answered, “It feels like my skull is about to split open…”

“Damn…” There was a pause as Annie took a few steps to get ahead of Mikasa and held the door open for her. “Lay down, all right? I’ve got some medicine for headaches that I bought on liberty. Since I don’t get headaches as often, I’ve got plenty.” 

Mikasa stood silently as Annie bent, getting the medicine out of her footlocker. “Why are you helping me?”

“Contrary to popular belief,” Annie said, her tone light, “I’m not a soulless bitch.” She waited until Mikasa had gotten her gear taken off and was at least ready to lay down before she handed her a couple pills. Then, almost as if to cover her sudden kindness, the blonde added, “And you’re pretty pathetic when you’re in pain. It’ll make it harder to kick your ass if I think about how sad you look.” 

“Nice save,” Mikasa chuckled weakly. Then, she asked, “Uhm…do you have any water?”

“No but give me a minute. Where’s your canteen cup?” Annie inquired. When Mikasa motioned to the open footlocker, she knelt and grabbed it without looking too closely at anything else within. She returned quickly after and handed it to the brunette. As she watched Mikasa take the medicine, Annie questioned, “Are your migraines usually this sudden?”

She sighed softly after finishing the water off. Mikasa shook her head and mumbled, “No. Usually, I get this weird aura that vaguely hurts and messes with my vision. But sometimes, if I’m stressed…they’ll hit very suddenly.” 

Annie primly replied, “We’re in the military, we’re constantly under stress.” 

Mikasa shook her head again, noticeably slower, and stated, “Not like that. It’s…it’s something else.” She stripped out of her trousers and dropped them to the floor in a move utterly unlike herself before curling up under her light cover. Softly, she whispered, “Thank you, Annie.”

“Yeah, no problem.” The blonde got her own gear undone and hung on the corner of her rack before heading off to shower before anyone else got released from chow. When she returned, Annie noticed that Mikasa had tugged the sheet over her head and saw that her breathing had seemed to even out. Hopefully, she was asleep. 

Soon, the sound of the others returning could be heard outside and Annie poked her head outside the door to mutter, “Hey, try not to be too loud. Ackerman’s migraine is already worse.”

Ymir smirked. “Aw, how sweet of you, Annie? Worried about your girlfriend?”

Annie’s cheeks began to grow hot and she snapped, “She’s not my girlfriend, you fuck ass. But I at least have some respect when people are in enough pain that they’re fucking sobbing.” She watched Ymir’s smirk fall and, if anything, it was almost like she was thinking deeply about something.

“No problem, Annie, thanks for helping Mikasa out. She looked pretty bad when you guys left,” Christa said. 

“Yeah, whatever, it’s no big deal. Shadis ordered me to anyway,” Annie replied, brushing it off. 

Thankfully, it seemed to keep the other girls in their barracks from growing too loud. Ymir seemed like her usual self, teasing Christa and flirting while making jabs at everyone else. Still, Annie knew that Ymir was watching her out of the corner of her eye. Lights out was called soon after and that was when the storm finally hit. Even before the sound of driving rain could be heard, there was a loud clap of thunder. A couple of the girls startled but nervously laughed it off, joking about how jumpy they were. 

Annie listened to it all silently, staring up at the bottom of the bunk above her own. Where Mina used to sleep. The blonde sighed heavily and moved to lay on her side. Soon, their barracks were completely silent. She was getting drowsy. The sound of rain tended to be calming for Annie. Yet, something was keeping her from completely drifting off. Just a couple racks over, Mikasa was in her own rack. And, after trying to concentrate, she noticed the sound of quiet sobs. Annie got up, taking her own blanket and pillow with her. 

“Mikasa,” the blonde whispered, gently touching the other girl’s shoulder. When she peeked her head out, Annie said, “Scoot over.”

As Annie settled in next to her, draping her own blanket over the both of them for added warmth, Mikasa asked weakly, “Why…?”

The shorter girl shook her head and just pulled Mikasa close; gently, she began to pet the soft strands of hair under her fingertips. “Don’t worry about that.” She kept Mikasa cuddled against her chest, even when the brunette flinched or nearly jumped at the loud cracks of thunder. “You’re ok. You’re  _safe_. You’re  _here_.” At those words, she felt Mikasa’s body sag and press against her own, clinging for dear life. Her fingers lightly threaded through Mikasa’s hair, stroking softly. It was making Annie tired herself and she began to doze.

Mikasa had already fallen back asleep, looking much more peaceful than before. And, upon seeing that, Annie finally allowed herself to drift off. 


End file.
